Leaving Sorrow Behind
by TheInfamousReno
Summary: Sephiroth is judged in the Lifestream after he is killed by Cloud. It becomes a lot more than that though. Chapter 9 up. R & R People.
1. Death and Judgment

  
Leaving Sorrow Behind   
Chapter 1  
Death and Judgment  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7, or anything else related to Square.  
This is my first FanFic, so please keep that in mind when writing your review.  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth stared up at the black sky. For the first time in almost 5 years, he was completely free   
from Jenova's control, and he was thinking on his own. It was like he was waking up from a very long sleep, realizing for the first time his actions and their consequences. Try to become a god...? He had been perfectly satisfied with his strength before. He had been the most powerful man alive, why had he needed anything more? He sighed, and glanced up. He was tired, exhausted from fighting Cloud and his friends. He hadn't wanted to. When Jenova died, he became free from her control. He realized what he had done, and planned to kill himself, as it was far too late for him to turn back now. But then, what was left of Jenova dropped down from higher up in the crater, right on top of him. He had tried to resist her, but she literally forced herself inside of him, causing him to mutate into Bizzaro Sephiroth. Even then, he was still in control of 'their' body. Then, she had seeped into his brain, slowly taking control, her siren call seducing him again, only this time he did not succumb to it. In that moment of weakness, her weakness, he had seen her entire plan. He wasn't her son. He wasn't even an ancient. He was just a twisted Shinra experiment. The only one that had succeeded. A freak of nature, just like he knew he always was. He was shocked. He realized how easily he'd been manipulated by her. He hadn't even realized Cloud and his friends were attacking. Even as they fought, Jenova explained to him what had happened to his body. Bizzaro Sephiroth was really just a staging area for a more powerful mutation, the One Winged Angel. All the damage that he took would be converted into power for the next form. He struggled and fought her, even as Bizzaro Sephiroth's body died about him. His mutated body disappeared in a flash of light, immediately replaced by the one winged angel. They were strong, he had honestly expected Jenova to win. It was a shock to both himself and her when she was defeated, even in that form. She had died, along with his body. For good, that time. He relished her screams, and death cries, as their minds split apart. Jenova's dissolved, along with his body, while his mind, or spectral form, was drawn into the lifestream, into this black, depressing, wasteland. Sephiroth laughed softly as he glanced up into the sky again. The light overhead had grown to the size of a basketball. Soon, Cloud would arrive to kill him. He wouldn't even fight back, he deserved to die, and it was fitting that Cloud would be his executioner. All of his sins...Sephiroth shut his eyes, his mind reeling, still not believing what he...no, Jenova, had made him do.   
  
"Sephiroth!"   
  
He glanced up. Cloud was only 50 feet away now. When he neared, he righted himself from the headfirst plummet, and landed gracefully on his feet. He glared at Sephiroth, and held the Ultima Weapon at the ready. Sephiroth raised his sword, the Masamune.   
  
(One more battle is all you owe me...)   
  
Then, Cloud struck, the blows raining down on Sephiroth, fast and furious. He didn't even try to defend himself. His left arm was taken off, followed by a vicious slash across his chest. Blood flew everywhere...his blood. Sephiroth didn't scream. He wouldn't give Cloud the pleasure. Cloud lept up high and brought his sword down right on his head, splitting his skull in two. His brains splattered out onto the ground as Cloud stood triumphantly over what was left of his body. Suddenly, Sephiroth was seeing everything from above. He saw his body, or what was left of it, and Cloud, as he slowly faded away, going back to his friends....friends.... Sephiroth's vision began to go white, as he died. He felt at peace, as if he had atoned for his sins, paying with his life.  
  
  
  
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Sephiroth awoke with a start. He immediately became aware of his surroundings. He was floating, in a green, translucent liquid. It reminded him of something he had eaten back when he was a cadet in SOLDIER....what was it called...Jelli? Jella? Something like that. But that didn't matter. (So......this is the lifestream...), he thought. He examined himself quickly, finding he was wearing his usual black SOLDIER garb, minus his armband, materia, and more importantly, the Masamune. He looked around, frantically searching for it. Looking down, he saw it sinking fast. He cried out, and began swimming after it, not even noticing that he could hear himself perfectly in the strange liquid. He swam for several minutes before he realized he had not made any progress at all.   
  
"Dammit!"   
  
He cried out in frustration as his only worldly possession sank away , slowly fading from sight. He tried to swim some again, but with the same result.   
  
(Why can I not move?!)   
  
He was confused. It was like he was flying, or suspended in midair. He couldn't move at all in any direction. He could move his arms and legs without any resistance though. "Struggling will get you nowhere." The voice came suddenly, and from all around.  
He was surprised that he WASN'T surprised.   
  
"Who are you?"   
  
he asked, sounding almost bored.   
  
"It's not the right time for you to know who I am yet.......Sephiroth."   
  
"What?"   
  
he asked, sounding annoyed. He didn't like not knowing what was going on, or being spoken to like he was 5 years old.   
  
"Do you know why you are here?"   
  
"I have not the slightest idea."  
  
he replied, sounding bored again.   
  
"This is your punishment."   
  
He looked around. It didn't seem much like a punishment to him.   
  
"What are you going to do to me?" He still sounded quite bored.   
  
"Haha.....you fear nothing do you?"   
  
"I have no reason to."   
  
"I have lived a sinful life, and I deserve to be punished for it."   
  
He shut his eyes briefly, the faces of the people he had murdered playing across the inside of his eyelids.   
  
"I have killed many innocent people without remorse. Even before Jenova took control of me."   
  
It was a minute before the voice spoke again.   
  
"Are you remorseful now, Sephiroth?"   
  
He thought for a moment.   
  
"....I was never taught to feel remorse for what I did. I was created.."   
  
He spat out the word, Hojo's face appearing in his mind.   
  
"....I was created to be the perfect soldier. I am now what I was from the moment I was born. A heartless murderer."   
  
".....Then you feel no regret or remorse for what you have done?"   
  
"........No, I do not. I am not capable of it"  
  
The words he spoke were flat and untrue. He was simply speaking what Jenova had hammered into his brain while he was under her control.  
  
"Sephiroth....can you honestly say you would know remorse, even if you felt it?"  
  
"....No, I cannot."  
  
"What you are feeling Sephiroth....is remorse. You regret your actions and want to change them."  
  
"You read my mind?"  
  
"Yes. And that is your punishment. Sephiroth, you will know remorse. You will know sadness. You will yearn for death as if it were true love, simply to escape the sadness.....such is the nature and intent of your punishment. You will never be able to change your actions. You will be hated and loathed by all for the rest of eternity."  
  
He was not affected. He had been hated, feared, despised, loathed by everyone he had ever come in contact with.  
  
"I'm afraid you will have to come up with something better than that, as I am immune to the idiocy of emotions."  
  
The voice grew angry.  
  
"We shall see, Sephiroth, how brave you are very soon."  
  
"Let us begin my torment then."  
  
"Hahaha...very well. You must sleep now for a little while. I will return for you soon."  
  
"What?"  
  
He got no answer. Suddenly, everything went black. He could not see a thing. Even before he had time to move, he fell into a deep sleep, as if touched by death.  
  
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It probably didn't seem to angsty or much like a drama now, but it will get better. This is only an introduction. I'm not gonna ruin the story, so you'll just have to read and find out. 


	2. A Fitting Punishment?

Leaving Sorrow Behind  
Chapter 2  
A Fitting Punishment  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or anything else related to Square.  
  
Sephiroth awoke with a start. He looked around, to find himself in exactly the same place he had been in the day before.....had it been a day? He was unsure of how much time had passed. He rubbed his eyes as they slowly adjusted to the eerie green light of the lifestream. He immediately noticed that there was now a chair about 20 feet in front of him, facing away from him. It was a maroon leather....with 4 buttons on the armrests. For some reason, the chair seemed familiar to him. He adjusted his mako-enhanced vision, and found it to be covered with tiny nicks and cuts.  
  
(Where have I seen this before?)  
  
Familiarity radiated from it, he felt as though it were a friend he had not seen in a long time. He began to walk over to it, when he remembered that he could not move. He sighed in frustration, and settled for magnifying his vision yet again. There appeared to be something written on the back of the chair, in very small letters. He squinted, and was finally able to make out a few of the letters.   
  
"phirot...?"  
  
His head began to hurt from squinting, and he desisted temporarily to rub his temple. Where was that person that had spoke to him the day before? They had said they would return for him soon. He sighed, feeling a little stupid for what he was about to do.  
  
"HELLO?!"  
  
He received no answer. Sephiroth had never been a very vocal person, he could probably count the times he had yelled in his life on his hands. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him, just beyond the chair. It increased in it's intensity until he was forced to shield his eyes. Even with his arm in front of his eyes, he could still tell the light was getting brighter. Then, as abruptly as it came, the light faded away. He slowly removed his arm from in front of his eyes. In front of the chair, there was now a large screen or some kind. Sephiroth had never been much for movies, but even he knew that it was a movie screen.  
  
"Hello again."  
  
The voice spoke suddenly, but it sounded different this time....more feminine, but he still couldn't tell the gender of the speaker. Sephiroth cut right to the chase.  
  
"This is my punishment?" "Yes. Please, sit."  
  
Sephiroth's body floated down a few inches, until he felt his feet touch what felt like solid ground.  
He moved his right foot forward cautiously, as he could not see the path he was walking on.   
( Well, Carpe Diem.)  
  
He walked forward, a little surprised he had not fallen off of whatever it was he had been standing on. He moved around to the front of the chair, and noisily flopped down in it, relief shooting up his legs after all that floating.  
  
"Sephiroth, are you perhaps beginning to understand your punishment now?"  
  
"Yes."   
That was a lie. He had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't about to admit it.  
  
"Haha...your face tells otherwise."  
  
He was about to ask what the voice meant, but he decided against it, fearing he already looked like he was utterly confused. Confusion could always be used to the enemies advantage, and he had no desire to expose any weakness which this being might exploit. Besides, his silence was both his shield and his sword, not giving a clear answer either way.  
  
"It is time for your punishment to begin." Whatever this thing was, it was obsessed with punishing him, but it seemed to be all talk, having taken no action to punish him yet. He realized then, that he had the opportunity to examine the chair more closely. The back of it also had buttons on it, as did the legs, which were ornately carved to resemble the claws of a dragon. The front of the chair seemed relatively untouched, whereas the back of it had been covered in gouges and nicks.  
  
"I thought you would probably like something familiar to sit in. It is a luxury, and it can be taken away, do not forget it."  
  
Sephiroth was now completely confused. The chair had indeed seemed familiar, but he did not know how it was linked to him.  
  
"I have never seen this chair before."  
  
"What are you talking about? Of course you have seen it before."  
  
"Where?"  
  
There was an uncomfortably long pause before the voice responded again  
  
".....how much of your life do you remember, Sephiroth?"  
  
What a stupid question. He began to laugh, but then realized that he could not remember anything that occurred before he joined SOLDIER .  
  
"Wha...What is this?!"  
  
"...I thought so. When you traveled to the lifestream, you must have lost some of your memory I'm sure Jenova forcing herself into your brain also caused significant damage, but I was hoping it would be repaired once you were brought here....this will make things more difficult for you...and me."  
  
Sephiroth wasn't really paying attention as he searched his memory, trying to remember what had happened before Nibelheim, but it was like starting a book halfway through it and trying to figure out what was going on, but not having any earlier chapters to look back to.  
  
"Well, it does not matter. Soon, you will have the truth revealed to you."  
  
"What do you mean?"   
Suddenly, the screen flickered to life, the well in Nibelheim appearing on it.  
  
"Nibelheim..."  
  
"Yes Sephiroth.....Everything begins, and will end, at Nibelheim. Soon everything will become clear to you. For now, I must leave you, but I will return soon. For now, you must watch."  
  
"Watch....?"  
  
Sephiroth got no response.   
  
(I guess it's gone....)  
  
Still a bit shocked over losing his memory, he turned his eyes to the screen as it began to show people walking about the square, going about their business. In seemed to zero in on two of them standing in front of the well talking. One had long black hair, and was dressed in the uniform of the Turks. The second, a beautiful brown-haired women wore a white lab coat and a pair of glasses. Sephiroth watched intently, not sure what was about to happen, but if this creature was forcing him to watch it, it must somehow relate to him. It might be able to help him restore his lost memory as well.  
  
"Lucrecia....you are with child?"  
  
"Yes, Vincent. Hojo confirmed it himself. I am one and a half months along now."  
  
The one called Vincent looked pained.  
  
"It is Hojo's?"  
  
" Yes, of course!"  
  
The woman gave a small tinkling laugh.  
  
The Turk looked as though he had been physically struck.   
  
"I am very happy for you two."  
  
Vincent was obviously not happy for her, it seemed as though something about this woman's pregnancy troubled him. His brow furrowed, and he looked down at his feet, avoiding eye contact with the woman.  
  
"Vincent...? What's wrong...?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing....I just have a very bad headache today. The sun does that to me sometimes."  
  
"Oh, how about I make you some tea? That always helps me when I have a headache."  
  
Vincent rubbed the side of his head for a moment before he spoke again  
  
"I am sorry to refuse, but I am supposed to accompany some of the scientists to the dig site again. I must take my leave of you, Lucrecia."  
  
"Oh...alright then. Well, I'll see you later!"  
  
The woman....Lucrecia, seemed hurt when Vincent told her he had to leave. Apparently there was something more than friendship going on between these two. Sephiroth normally wouldn't have cared about such a thing, but, this did pertain to him somehow.  
  
Vincent turned around and walked away towards the inn, leaving Lucrecia standing there by herself.  
She hugged herself for a moment then turned and walked slowly up towards the Shinra Mansion. When she neared the gate, a man with long greasy black hair wearing a lab coat identical to hers stepped out of the shadows to greet her.  
  
"Did you tell him we would be returning to Midgar like I told you to?"  
  
Tears formed at the corners of the Lucrecia's eyes.  
  
"Hojo....I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it....Vincent is my best friend, how can I tell him after all this time, that I'm going to just up and leave him?"  
  
Hojo raised his hand to slap her, but caught himself and lowered it. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"Dammit woman, I didn't ask you, I TOLD you."  
  
Lucrecia raised her arm in front of her face, as if she still feared an attack.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't be mad, I'll tell him first thing tomorrow! I promise you!"  
  
Hojo clenched his teeth for a moment, then turned and began to walk away. He got about halfway up the walk to the mansion, when he turned suddenly.  
  
"Oh, and don't you dare mention the child to him!"  
  
Lucrecia paled  
  
"Y-yes, of course not, that's private."  
Hojo glared at her  
  
"Good. See that it stays private."  
  
He pivoted and walked the rest of the way up the pathway and into the mansion. Lucrecia collapsed on the ground, and sobbed. She cried for about 5 minutes before she regained her composure and got to her feet and brushed herself off. She turned and walked up into the Shinra mansion after Hojo. About a minute passed, then the screen slowly faded to black. When it reappeared, it showed the Turk, Vincent, sitting in a bar beside a man who could've been his twin brother except for his more Wutain features. This man was obviously a Turk as well. Sephiroth thought for a moment then recalled him as the man he had killed in the Temple of the Ancients....Tseng.  
  
"I can't believe she's pregnant...."  
  
Vincent put his head down on the counter. For a moment Sephiroth thought he was crying.  
  
"Vincent...I know this must be hard for you...but they are married."  
  
Vincent looked up, his eyes haunted, staring straight ahead.  
  
"Why Tseng...? Why did she pick that rat bastard over me?  
  
Tseng glanced down and swirled his drink a few times before answering.  
  
"Vincent. Did you ever once tell Lucrecia that you loved her? That you were even interested in having a relationship with her?"  
  
Vincent turned to look at Tseng.  
  
"I.....no, I didn't."  
  
Tseng was silent, his point having been made.   
  
"Hey....look. If she's as unhappy with him as you think she is, she'll probably leave him, right? Then you'll have you chance." Tseng said, feeling a little guilty for what he'd said a moment ago.  
  
"Vincent looked a little hopeful.  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"Sure." Tseng knew the chances of this happening were very slim, he knew that Hojo probably wouldn't let her leave, even if she wanted to. But, he would do everything in his power to pry her away from him.  
  
"Vinecnt wiped at one of his eyes with the sleeve of his uniform.  
  
"Thanks Tseng. I can always count on you to cheer me up."  
  
Sephiroth was beginning to get a little perturbed with this Vincent. He was incredibly inept at hiding his emotions.  
  
Tseng grinned.  
  
"Buddy, you're not cheered up yet. Bartender, let's have some more beers down here!"  
  
The bartender slowly made his way down to them with the drinks. He was obviously intimidated by both of them, even the depressed Vincent.   
"Ah...y-yes...here you are Mr.Tseng....are these going to be on the house also?"  
  
Tseng shrugged  
  
"Yeah, why not?"  
  
The bartender left the drinks and quickly made his way back to the other end of the counter.  
  
Tseng popped the lid off of one of the beers and handed it to Vincent, and took the other one for himself.  
Vincent simply stared at the drink.  
  
"Hey, come on Vince. Drink up...please?"  
  
Vincent sighed and offered him a weak smile before raising the bottle to his lips, and much to the surprise of Sephiroth, downed the entire thing in one gulp. Tseng grinned and slapped him on the back.  
  
"That's the way!"  
  
Tseng turned back to his drink and downed it all at once as well. He slammed the bottle down on the counter and belched loudly, drawing a genuine smile from Vincent. They both began to laugh as the screen again began to fade to black. Sephiroth was not sure what Tseng had been like, he had only met him momentarily at the temple before he, well....killed him, but this character did not seem anything like the man he had briefly met. Sephiroth shifted in the chair, his legs beginning to feel a bit cramped. He found a comfortable position just as the screen began to fade back in. This time it showed the Well again. Vincent was leaning up against it, a hand covering his face. Tseng came running out of the inn and over to Vincent.  
He spoke quickly, his eyes darting about nervously.  
  
"There's talk of rebellion going around again."  
  
Vincent stared at him.  
  
"They are still opposed to the presence of the Mako Reactor."  
  
"Yes, of course. They always have been. I don't know exactly what's going on, but I have a bad feeling about this night."  
  
Vincent's eyes widened. Whenever Tseng had a hunch, he was usually right.  
  
"You think they will try to attack the reactor?" Tseng rubbed his hands together, still seeming a little nervous.  
  
"I'm not sure, but keep an eye out for anything suspicious, alright?" "Of course."  
  
Tseng turned and ran back up towards the Shinra Mansion, leaving Vincent standing there by the well, feeling a bit uneasy. Vincent began to walk around the well, waiting for Tseng to return with his orders from Hojo.  
  
A few moments later, Tseng came running back looking more nervous than he had before.  
  
"We're moving the entire operation up to the reactor. There's been a report that the villagers are planning to riot tonight. We need to get a move on."  
Vincent was shocked. The people of Nibleheim had seemed so friendly.  
  
"Alright. What should I do?"  
  
"Your orders are to escort Hojo and the other head scientists up to the reactor." We have to use the jeeps to move up the heavier equipment, like those Hojo's precious little growth tanks."  
  
Vincent was shocked that he would put the safety of his equipment beofre the well-being of his research team, but these days he wasn't sure what Hojo would do, the man seemed so unstable.  
  
"Get a move on Vincent, and try to keep it quiet we don't want the villagers getting suspicious."  
  
Vincent saluted, and turned and ran off towards the inn. When he walked into the Lobby the innkeeper greeted him with a cold stare, and a smirk. Vincent quickly hurried by him and up the stairs to the Lucrecia's room. He knocked on the door three times. About a minute later she answered the door looking a bit frightened.  
  
"Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Almost, just let me grab a few things. Why don't you go get the others."  
  
"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes."  
  
She closed the door. Vincent turned to the room across from hers and rapped loudly on the door 6 times.  
Vincent heard a muffled curse through the door about 5 seconds before it was thrown open by Hojo.  
Vincent glared at him.  
"Are you ready Professor Hojo?"  
  
Hojo glared back at him.  
  
"Yes, I am!"  
  
"Good, then please go down to the lobby. I'll join you shortly." Hojo smiled knowingly at him.   
"YOU can go wait in the lobby, and I'LL get my wife."  
  
Sephiroth could tell that Vincent wanted to put a bullet in the smug man's face so bad his hands twitched, but of course he refrained.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Vincet turned and stalked down the hall and ran noisily down the stairs to the lobby to find the innkeeper asleep at his desk. Good, that would make things much easier.  
  
Vincent waited about 5 minutes before Hojo and another scientist came down the stairs followed by a sobbing Lucrecia. Vincent immediately noticed the purpling bruise on her left cheek and surpressed a growl. He glared at Hojo who was attempting to position himself in front of her so that he could not see the bruise.  
  
"Shall we?"  
  
Vincent said, sounding a little angrier than he wanted to. He would deal with Hojo after the others were brought to safety. Hojo paused for a moment before smirking at Vincent and nodding.  
  
The four walked quietly out into the square and paused in front of the well. Vincent noticed that Hojo wasn't carrying anything, but Lucrecia was attempting to carry three travel bags.   
  
"Can I help you with those?"  
  
Vincent asked as he stepped forward and took the largest of the three.  
  
She smiled through her tears.  
  
"Thank you Vincent."  
  
He would have taken the others too, but he needed one hand free to use his gun.  
  
A jeep slowly pulled into the square and approached the well. Vincent located Tseng sitting in the driver's seat.   
"I've got room for one more."   
  
He whispered motioning at the empty passenger seat next to him. Hojo started forward, but Vincent quickly turned to Lucrecia and motioned for her to go on. She hesitated for a moment then started forward. Hojo, out of his infinite charity, helped her up into the seat he had been about to take.   
  
"Good luck Vincent. I'll see you at the reactor." Tseng slowly drove the jeep around the well and out of the village, towards the Nibel Mountains.  
Vincent turned to Hojo and shoved the travel bag he had taken from Lucrecia at him, catching him off guard.  
He waited a moment before speaking.  
  
"Come on, let's go."  
  
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Still not much of a Drama eh? Again, it will get better. I'm not sure whether to have this whole sequence continue and write Sephiroth watching it, or just write it, and consider that Sephiroth watching it is a given.  
Well, hopefully I'll post chapter 3 soon. ;)  
  
  
  
  



	3. Decision Bell

Leaving Sorrow Behind   
Chapter 3  
Decision Bell  
  
* I noticed that when I uploaded it, the format in chapter two went all to hell. I've tried to fix the problem, but I guess if it's still there, there's nothing I can do about it. Sorry! On another note, I have changed a few things in the plot, both in this chapter and the previous one.  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth sat watching the screen watched had mysteriously appeared before him a while ago. He had no idea what was going on, but he had been instructed to watch, so watch he did. He wasn't sure how Vincent, Lucrecia, or Hojo had anything to do with his future, but he was sure he would find out soon enough. Vincent, Hojo, and another scientist had begun to make their way through the Nibel Mountains to the reactor, out of fear of the villagers rioting and killing them and destroying the reactor.  
  
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Vincent stared up at the forboding peaks above them, not at all looking forward to what he had to do. Protecting his worst enemy and guiding him through one of the most dangerous places around. But, he was a Turk, and Turks always got the job done He turned to Hojo and stared at him for a moment before speaking.  
  
"Well, come on then. I'll take the lead, Hojo, you follow in the middle, and you there, he gestured to the other scientist, bring up the rear."  
  
Hojo looked satisfied with where Vincent had placed him, since he was the most protected if a monster attacked. He turned to the other scientist and shoved the travel bag Vincent had given him earlier at him.  
  
"Take this. If you drop it, you're fired."  
  
Vincent's blood boiled. Hojo would never perform any sort of physical labor, even carrying his own travel bag, which he had been about to force his wife to carry. If Tseng had not had more room in his jeep, they would be carrying a whole lot more, and he was grateful for that. The startled scientist accepted the bag into his arms already full with one of his own bags and another of Hojo's. Vincent would have taken one, but he had to have his gun at the ready in case a monster attacked. He turned and began to walk slowly up the trail, keeping a reasonable pace so that the poor scientist could keep up. They walked along on a fairly level trail, but Vincent knew the going would soon be much tougher. He spotted the twin peaks off in the distance, and knew that the bridge to the reactor lay just beyond them. Glancing back towards the village, all the lights were on, unusual considering the hour. He turned to the others.  
  
"We better hurry up. Something's up down in the village."  
  
Hojo and the other scientist, Vincent glanced at his name tag for the first time and found his name was Sanchez, turned and glanced down. Hojo turned to him.  
  
"Yes, we had better."  
  
Vincent started up the trail again, picking up the pace a little bit. He was thankful it was a full moon tonight, as he would not have been able to see the many ravines and sharp drop-offs without it. After walking for about another half hour, they neared the twin peaks on either side of the bridge. Vincent glanced back and saw Hojo and Sanchez about 15 feet behind him, just in time to see Sanchez stumble and fall, the bags flying out in front of him and knocking Hojo to the ground. The moment he fell, a Nibel Wolf jumped out of the shadows and attacked the fallen Sanchez. He screamed and put up his arms to shield his face as it's claws tore at his stomach. Vincent drew his gun and fired even before it had come up to his chest level. The Nibel Wolf fell over on it's side, a hole in the side of it's head beginning to ooze blood. Sanchez lay motionless underneath it. Vincent walked over to it, ignoring the cowering Hojo for now. When he reached Sanchez, his fears were confirmed. The man's throat was torn out, the wolf's claws must have done it when it first lunged at him. He pitied the man for a moment, but then his training kicked in. He scooped up one of the bags and tossed it over to Hojo.   
  
"You can get up now."  
  
Hojo rose slowly, glancing about as if he feared another attack.  
  
"He's dead?"  
  
"Yes. The wolf tore his throat out."  
  
Hojo paled. "Don't they usually hunt in packs?"  
  
"Yes. We had better get out of here on the double. Here."  
  
he shoved the bag at Hojo.  
  
"We're going to have to leave one of these behind you pick which one." "What?! We can't leave any of these! They contain the JEN-....the Ancient tissue samples!"  
  
Vincent growled. He picked up the heaviest of the bags and walked over to the bridge and tossed it over the edge.  
  
"There. Now you won't have to worry about it."  
  
Vincent looked at Hojo and found he was beyond anger.   
  
"You dirty bastard! The contents of that bag were worth over half a million gil!"  
  
Vincent shrugged. "It was either that bag, or your life. I normally wouldn't care, but if you don't get to the reactor alive, I don't get paid."  
  
"I'll see to it that you're fired for this Valentine!"  
  
Vincent shrugged again. It wasn't likely that he would be fired simply because Hojo wanted him to, he was a Turk, and Hojo was just a scientist, even if he was in charge of this operation. Since the president ran the Turks personally, he would have to convince Shinra to fire him, which was not likely to happen considering the amount of training they had poured into him. Vincent turned and started up the bridge. He glanced over one shoulder and saw that Hojo wasn't following him.   
  
"You said yourself they hunt in packs. IF you don't want to share his fate, I suggest you stick close to me."  
  
Hojo's eyes widened and he made his way and the bridge to Vincent with surprising quickness considering he was carrying a bag that weighed 90 pounds easily. As if to confirm Vincent's earlier statement, a wolf howled somewhere off in the distance. They made their way up the bridge as quick as they possibly could with Hojo toting his precious bag. They reached the top and headed for a cave opening in the side of one of the cliffs. He knew just beyond there was the Mako fountain which the monsters wouldn't come near.  
They could rest there for a while. Vincent glanced at his watch and was shocked to learn they had been walking for well over 3 hours. It hadn't seemed that long to him. He strode confidently inside the cavern which contained the mako fountain, and came face to face with another Nibel Wolf. It was staring at the mako fountain as though hypnotized by it. Vincent drew his gun and fired, blowing a bloody hole in the back of it's head. It fell to the floor without a sound, blood pooling under the bullet wound. He replaced his gun in it's holster and walked over to it's body. (What was it staring at?)  
  
He glanced into the mako fountain and immediately saw the object the wolf had been so fascinated with. A small green orb lay in the cleft in the hardened formation. He picked it up and closed his eyes for a moment....  
  
(Contain...pretty strong stuff.)  
  
He pulled out his gun and glanced over the orbs fitted into the barrel. Lightning...Fire...Ice...Restore...and a Ramuh-HP Absorb combo.   
  
(No open slots....)  
  
He turned to Hojo.  
  
"Can you handle this?"  
  
Hojo looked slightly insulted.  
  
"Of course." He motioned to his armband.   
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's a Level 3 Contain, Freeze, Break, and Tornado."  
  
Hojo's eyes gleamed. Apparently he had never used such a powerful piece of Materia before.  
  
"I'll take care of it for you."  
  
Vincent turned and tossed it to him over one shoulder. Hojo attempt to catch failed, and it fell to the floor and Hojo scrambled madly after it. He finally got it and popped it into his armband. He held it up to the green light emanating from the mako fountain and admired it for a moment. Vincent turned to him.   
  
"Do you need a cure spell?"  
  
Hojo's answer was distant, as he was preoccupied with his new materia.  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
Hojo was being surprisingly civil towards him.  
  
"Well, if you're ready, we better start moving again."  
  
A grin spread across Hojo's face.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
Vincent raised on eyebrow as he stared at him. Hojo was plotting something, but he wasn't sure what.  
  
(I'll kill him with the materia, then Lucrecia will be mine alone....he'll never reach the reactor alive.)  
  
Hojo laughed insanely at the thought. Yes....he would kill Vincent....the only question was when and where? Vincent turned and walked out of the cavern with the mako fountain in it, and into the next strangely colored cavern. Hojo quickly followed, although not so close this time, now that he had something to defend himself with. They walked alone in silence for quite some time. Eventually, they came to yet another cave set into the face of a cliff. Vincent knew that this one would lead to the reactor. They only had about ten minutes of walking left.   
  
Vincent strolled into the cave, lost in thought. He was suddenly shocked of his reflections when an incredibly loud roar split the air. Vincent stopped dead in his tracks, only a few feet in front of him stood a Blue Dragon, the remains of some animal hanging from it's mouth. He glanced over one shoulder to see if Hojo was planning on assisting him in any way. He was nowhere in sight.   
  
"Damn!"  
  
The Blue Dragon advanced. Vincent drew his gun and fired five shots at it's head and underbelly. It roared, but the shots were probably more of an annoyance to it than anything. It swung one of it's massive blood covered arms at him, almost catching him in the head. Vincent ducked out of the way, concentrated, and chanted a Fire 3 spell. Spheres of flame exploded all around it's body. It screamed horribly as it's body was charred by the powerful spell. It spun around and lashed out with it's spike covered tail. It caught Vincent in the chest and knocked him off his feet. The dragon took advantage of the lull in the battle and cast Cure 2 on itself. Most of the damage from his fire spell was healed, but his bullet wounds remained. Vincent glanced at his armband, the fire materia gently glowing yellow, recharging slowly.   
  
"Damn, hurry up!!"  
  
He chanted Bolt 3, and immediately several lightning bolts struck the dragon in rapid succession. It screamed again, one of it's eyes put out by the powerful blast. Great. Now all he had left was Ice, which would heal it, and Ramuh. He aimed his gun at it's other eye. If he blinded it, he could get behind it and shoot at it's underbelly. The Dragon began to glow again as it started to cast another healing spell. He had wanted to hold back Ramuh, but he had no choice now.  
  
"Judgment Bolt!"  
  
Bolts of lightning rained down all around the dragon, as Ramuh did it's work. The bolts pummeled the dragon back into a corner, breaking it's concentration and stopping the healing spell. Vincent glanced at his gun again. None of the attack materia had recharged yet. All he had left was an Ice, Restore, and his gun. Ice would heal it, so would Restore. He fired the last bullet in his clip, hoping to hit it's remaining eye. He missed, hitting it's heavily armored skull, but leaving no more than a scratch. He popped out that clip and slapped in a new one. The dragon was concentrating again, but it didn't seem to be a healing spell this time.  
Vincent was sure he wasn't going to like it though. (Why did I give Hojo that Contain?!)  
  
The Dragon opened it's mouth and screamed. Snow floated down around Vincent, and he recognized the beginnings of a Freeze spell.   
  
"Shit!"  
He tried to dodge to one side, but it was too late. The spell activated and trapped all except his gun arm and head inside a gigantic crystal of ice. He felt the deathly cold almost immediately. A cold so bitter and harsh that it almost burned. He realized his gun arm was free as the dragon began to advance on him. He had six shots.... He took aim as best he could and fired. Miss. He fired again. Miss. He realized that his arm wasn't going to be able to move enough to shoot at it's head. He glanced down at his gun. The Fire materia was recharged! He chanted Fire 3 immediately. The spell activated in an impressive display of fiery explosions.   
The heat from the spell was also enough to melt away the ice surrounding him. He saw the dragon beginning to cast another heal spell, and he turned and fired his remaining three bullets at it's face. The dragon screamed horribly. He had hit its remaining eye. It clawed at it's face even as it continued to prepare the healing spell. Vincent glanced down. The lightning was now recharged. He ran for one of the pipes protruding from the wall. Hiding behind it, he chanted Bolt 3. He didn't actually see the spell, but he heard the dragon scream again. A flash of light coming from the other side of the pipe told him it had been able to finish casting the cure spell. He glanced out to assess the damage. The dragon's eyes had completely healed, as had the other burn wounds he had inflicted.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
He glanced down at his gun. All the materia had lost its' color. He was out of magic power.  
He was going to die. He imagined the dragon's claws tearing through his flesh, ripping out his guts and forcing them down the gigantic creatures throat. He closed his eyes as the dragon began to lumber towards his hiding place. "Tornado!"  
  
He heard Hojo shout the spell at the same moment a rifle shot blew through the side of it's head. Vincent turned towards the entrance of the cave and found Hojo and Tseng standing there, Tseng holding a smoking rifle. The Dragon screeched and lumbered towards them exposing it's back to Vincent. That was all the opening he needed. He rolled out from behind the pipe and landed in a kneel. He fired a single shot at the soft unarmored back of its head. The front of the dragon's face exploded as the bullet came out the other side, blowing off the protective armor on it's skull. The dragon fell to the floor, the bloody mess that was where it's head had been making a soft splat as it hit the floor.  
  
Tseng ran over to Vincent.  
"Are you alright?!"  
  
Vincent slowly got to his feet.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine."  
  
Tseng looked at the remains of the dragon on the ground.  
  
"What's a Blue Dragon doing here? I thought these only lived up on the Northern Continent."  
  
Hojo stepped forward.  
  
"I may be able to explain that. All animals with any sort of consciousness are drawn towards strong natural sources of mako."  
  
He glanced at Vincent.  
"You remember the Nibel Wolf from earlier that seemed transfixed by the materia?"  
  
Vincent nodded.  
  
"The dragon must have been drawn here to the mako we're drawing out of the ground. We should be careful, other monsters from this area and elsewhere may show up."  
  
Tseng whistled and glanced up in thought. "He had to have flown over 5,000 miles to get here!"  
  
Hojo nodded. Once they "smell" the mako, they will stop at nothing to get to it."  
  
Vincent broke in  
  
"We should get back to the reactor. You can explain more there."  
  
Hojo nodded.  
  
Tseng started up the path he and Hojo had come from followed closely by Hojo and Vincent. Hojo was silent as usual, but this time he looked troubled.  
  
(Why did I help him? I swore I would kill that bastard.....)  
  
Vincent was having similar thoughts.  
  
(Why didn't he just leave me? It's not at all like Hojo...He probably just did it to impress Lucrecia....Yeah that's it.)  
  
They emerged from the cave and rounded another bend, the normally well-lit reactor was surprisingly dark, all the external lights off. Tseng noticed his surprise.  
  
"We turned off all the lights so the villagers wouldn't be able to find it as easily. We also cut the rope bridge before they could cross."  
  
Vincent nodded as Tseng continued.  
  
"We're fortifying our position. President Shinra is sending a SOLDIER division out to help defend the reactor."  
  
Vincent brightened a little bit. With SOLDIER around there job would be a lot easier. Tseng and Vincent were the only two who could really fight if they were needed to. They approached the reactor, the double doors sliding open to reveal the hallway which lead to the interior. Vincent started down the hall to the lounge, leaving Tseng and Hojo behind to discuss their plan of attack, or in this case, defense.  
He had just about reached the lounge, when the door to the infirmary opened and a sobbing Lucrecia threw herself into his arms.   
  
"Vincent! Oh, Vincent, I'm so glad you're alright!"  
  
She kissed him full on the lips with incredible passion. His eyes were as wide as saucers. She pulled away from him, looking a little bit embarrassed.   
  
"Why don't you let me give you something for that",  
  
she said, motioning to the wound the dragon had left in his chest when it had hit him.  
  
"That's okay, I'll just cast cure on it."  
  
She gave him a look he couldn't quite read.  
  
"No, really, I insist. Please, let me look at it." She took his arm and pulled him into the infirmary, shutting and locking the door behind her. She pun around and kissed him again, pressing his body up against the door.  
  
"Lucrecia, what are you doing?!"  
  
She put a finger on his lips.   
  
"Vincent...I was worried about you."  
  
"I know."   
He pushed her away slightly, but she pressed herself up against him again, putting one of her legs in between his.  
  
"I was REALLY worried about you."  
  
"I can tell."  
  
He said, his voice cracking slightly. She smiled. Her smile was so beautiful.... she took him by the hand and led him over to one of the beds. She pushed him down on it, and pulled herself into his lap.  
  
"Lucrecia....we can't...you're married."  
He didn't mean that. He wanted to hold her so bad that his hands tingled with frustrated desire.  
  
"Vincent...please...just for tonight...I need you."  
  
He sighed. She pulled herself off of his lap and stood.  
"Vincent...I-I'm sorry...what am I...?"  
  
She felt him take her by the shoulder and turn her around. He kissed her passionately.  
  
"Vincent..."  
  
He slowly lay back on the bed and pulled her body over his, kissing her at the same time. He slid her labcoat off of her shoulders. It fell slowly to the ground. He kissed her again and pulled her even closer to him.  
  
"Thank you....."  
  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
How about THAT eh? Cliche right? I honestly don't know. Anyhow, please R&R. I'll have Chapter 4 up within a week.  
  
  
  
  



	4. The Truth

Leaving Sorrow Behind  
Chapter 4  
The Truth  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth sat asleep in his chair. The movie had abruptly ended after Vincent and Lucrecia had talked in the infirmary. It hadn't started up again after almost three hours, so he had dozed off. He still had no idea what any of these people, especially Hojo and Vincent, had anything to do with his life, but he had figured out that this must have all occurred shortly before he was born because of the progress that had been made on the reactor, which wasn't actually completed until a year after his birth. Suddenly, the screen flickered on again. Sephiroth awoke with a start, and rubbed his eyes, the sudden bright light hurting his sensitive mako eyes. He blinked several times as they rapidly adjusted to the light. The screen was showing the interior of the reactor again, and he heard footsteps coming from the far end of the hall.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
A very pregnant Lucrecia slowly walked into the room in which Sephiroth had discovered his "Truth".  
She glanced around. The familiar looking pods which had contained the JENOVA monsters still adorned the room, but they seemed to be empty, or non-functional. She looked up at them, a tear coming to her eye.  
They had been holed up inside the reactor for all most 7 months now. An incredibly long time. Shinra was still air dropping supplies, but the visits were few and far between. The place was being slowly overrun by  
monsters of all sizes and types. Monsters from as far away as Mideel had journeyed here as part of some mass pilgrimage to the reactor. The pounding was incessant. They shrieked and pounded and howled, but try as they might, they couldn't penetrate the walls of the reactor. Meanwhile, the people inside were running low on food, water, and most of all patience. After being locked up for 7 months together, people were so sick of each other they were ready to put a bullet in each other's heads. SOLDIER had arrived about 3 months ago, but they had been picked off by the monsters one by one until now there was only a single squad left, headed up by a man named Ferguson.  
  
Vincent walked in and came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned around and hugged him.  
  
"Did you tell Hojo you want a divorce?"  
  
"Yes...."  
  
"How did he take it?" "I don't know....he didn't say anything, he just stared straight ahead...."  
  
Vincent looked down. Hojo must be really angry to not say anything at all to her.   
  
"We can be happy together now."  
  
She turned and looked at him.   
  
"I don't know...I feel as if something is wrong with this..."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with this. We were meant to be together."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Hojo stalked down the hall, tears tugging at the corners of his eyes. But they weren't tears of sorrow or loss. They were tears of rage. Pure, raw, uncontrollable rage. He had long suspected that Lucrecia was having an affair with Vincent, and now it had been confirmed. He had seen their little talk from the doorway of the Pod Room. As he walked down the hall, a scientist attending one of the newer pods being brought up to the Pod Room turned to him.  
  
"Doctor Hojo, whe-"  
  
"Shut up! Just shut up!"  
  
He pushed the stunned scientist aside and continued down the hall. After a few more turns he reached the entrance, the doors sealed tight. He stood staring at it for a moment.   
  
(You fucking bastard Vincent. I'll kill you, and get my wife back at the same time.)  
  
He reached for the control panel and slowly tapped in the code to open the door. He then quickly tapped in another code to prevent anyone from closing it without a password. He heard the door start to open, and began to run down the hall. Almost immediately three Nibel Wolves came charging in through the now open door. Hojo heard them coming and ducked into a janitorial closet and slammed the door behind him. He heard them pass him, then a moment later a scream erupted further up the hall from the scientist he had just passed. He opened the door slightly and peeked out. Two of the wolfs were worrying at the man's throat which had been torn out a moment ago. One of them turned to face him and snarled. He pulled his handgun from within his labcoat and shot it in the head, getting the second wolf's attention. It lunged at him and he fired again, shooting it right through the eye. He stood staring over it's body for a moment. He walked slowly up the hall, closing rooms to the various side rooms as he went.   
  
"Hey, what ar-" The man hadn't even been able to finish his sentence. Hojo turned and shot him in the forehead.   
Good. More blood. That would attract more monsters. He closed off all except the lounge, infirmary, and Pod Room. Most of the personnel were up on the second floor, holed up incase something like this happened, so by the time they noticed, it would be too late. He reached the elevator and got in. He tapped a few buttons and locked it out so it couldn't be used again until it was un-encrypted.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Vincent and Lucrecia both turned as a blood curdling scream echoed up from the hall.   
  
"Stay here. I'll go check it out."  
  
She nodded and he turned and ran out of the room. He started down the hall just in time to catch the elevator going up. He watched it for a moment then turned back to the hall. He walked down then turned around a corner and tripped over a man laying on the floor.   
  
"Hey!"  
  
He got up and was about to yell at the man when he realized he had been shot in the forehead. As he bent down to examine the wound, he was knocked to the floor by an attack from behind.   
  
He rolled and jumped up into a fighting stance, and immediately saw the source of the attack. A Nibel Wolf had also become very interested in the man's body. He drew his gun and shot it twice in the head.   
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
A roar erupted from further down the hall. The monsters must have finally broken down the door. He ran back to Lucrecia as fast as he could. The three SOLDIERS which had been sitting in the lounge had been bought out into the hallway by the gunshots.  
  
"Hey, what's going on?"  
  
"The monsters broke down the door! Get your swords!"   
He ran on by them and into the Pod Room.  
  
"Lucrecia, get upstairs now!"  
  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
  
"The monsters broke through!"  
  
She paled, and swallowed.  
  
"Alright."  
  
He led her out into the hall to the elevator. The three SOLDIERS were standing in front of the elevator, one of them was pounding on the control panel.   
  
"Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
One of the other two turned to Vincent.  
  
"Someone's locked out the control panel! We can't operate the elevator!"  
  
"What?! Here, let me look at it."  
  
He pushed the man pounding on the console aside. Sure enough, the words "LOCKED OUT" flashed on the screen every time he pushed a key.  
  
"Are there any stairs leading up?" The second SOLDIER inquired.  
  
Vincent thought for a moment.   
  
"There were, but we sealed them off in case the monsters got in."  
  
The third SOLDIER looked like he was beginning to panic.  
  
"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?!"  
  
Vincent turned and looked at him helplessly  
  
"I don't know!!"  
  
The roar came again, it sounded like it was just around the corner. The panicky SOLDIER began to beat the console with his fist.  
  
"Open up, Godammit!!"  
  
The roar came again, and the other two SOLDIERS readied their swords. Vincent drew his gun and dropped into a kneeling firing stance. A Zombie Dragon staggered around the corner, and turned to face them/ Vincent could smell its fetid breath all the way down the hall.  
  
The two SOLDIERs sprang at it, each staying to one side of the hall. The first one rolled in between it's legs and brought it's sword up into it's crotch. The second jumped up and pushed himself off the wall, slashing across its already rotting torso. The creature wasn't sure which of the two to attack, so it unleashed Pandora's Box on both of them. The SOLDIER that had rolled between it's legs managed to dodge the attack, but the other was hit hard, falling to the floor unconscious. Vincent emptied his clip at the wound the now KO'd SOLDIER had caused with his sword. The bullets seemed to do incredible damage, but the dragon was undead, and thus essentially unharmed by the attack.   
  
The SOLDIER that had been pounding the screen grabbed his sword up from the floor and recklessly charged the dragon. it whipped it's tail around and impaled him on it, the spike and a good 5 feet of it coming out through his spine. He dropped his sword as the dragon withdrew its tail. He fell to the floor staring at the gaping hole in his chest. Vincent concentrated on the Restore materia in his gun and cast Regen on the Dragon, which would act as poison. The Dragon screamed and swatted at the glowing lights that surrounded its body. He heard Lucrecia yelling something behind him, but he didn't have time to pay attention.  
  
The first SOLDIER was surrounded by a wave of green light, and a Comet spell slammed thorough the Dragon's torso, cutting it's body in two. The legs fell to the floor in one direction, the torso fell right on top of Vincent.   
  
He suddenly found himself staring into partially rotted, but still living eyes. The dragon opened its mouth  
and bit deep into his chest. He screamed as its teeth sank into his chest, biting into his lungs and heart. The last thing Vincent ever saw was the SOLDIER leaping up and bringing his sword down on the creatures' skull, splitting it in two.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Lucrecia screamed and ran over to Vincent's fallen form. The SOLDIER was busy prying the creature's skull from Vincent's chest. It's teeth were sunk in so deep that he couldn't get it off. Lucrecia knelt down next to Vincent and ran a hand along his cheek. She felt the tears beginning to fall, but it didn't really register with him.   
  
"Vincent!! Wake up!!!"  
  
The SOLDIER pulled her up.   
  
"Come on."  
  
The second SOLDIER had regained consciousness and walked shakily over to where they were.   
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I'll tell you later, for now we have to get out of here."  
  
He gestured toward the now open elevator which contained Hojo.  
  
He lifted her up and carried her towards the elevator. Hojo acme out to meet her as she fell into his arms.  
  
"Oh, God....Hojo..."  
  
He buried his face in her hair to hide his smile as he saw Vincent's lifeless body. He gestured to the Pod Room.   
  
"Take his body in there and put it into one of the Pods."  
  
Lucrecia pulled free and looked up at him.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Hojo smiled as warmly as he could manage.  
  
"I'm going to try to save his life, dear."  
  
Of course, that wasn't what he had planned for Vincent, but she'd never know that.  
  
The two SOLDIERs saluted, the one that had been hit a little unsteadily. They Picked up Vincent's body, the Dragon Zombie's skull still protruding from his chest , and disappeared into the pod room.  
  
He pulled Lucrecia into the elevator with him, and hit the up button. They'd never noticed it was still locked out...  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Sephiroth sat staring at the screen. The violence generally hadn't bothered him as he had seen much worse. It was Hojo's dishonorable actions that had shocked him. He had known Hojo was scum, but he didn't know he would be so bad as to force himself onto an unwilling wife by murdering her lover. He clenched one fist, wanting to smash the smug expression right off of Hojo's face. The screen slowly faded out, as did the green surrounding him for the first time, leaving Sephiroth to brood in the darkness. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.....  
  
He was startled awake quite suddenly, by a blinding light. His eyes adjusted quickly, and he saw the screen again, this time showing what appeared to be the basement of the Shinra Mansion. Vincent was strapped to a table in the middle of the room. He was still dead apparently, or maybe just unconscious, as the wound he had received seemed to be gone. Vincent awoke with a start, as Hojo noisily entered the room.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Vincent glanced over towards Hojo who was humming to himself as he carried in two test tubes.   
  
"And how are we doing today, my little rat?"  
  
Vincent stared at the ceiling, not wanting to dignify Hojo's stupid question with an answer.  
  
"Still silent eh?" He placed the two test tubes into a holder and walked over to Vincent and slapped him.  
He walked back over to the two test tubes and mixed their contents together. He walked back over to Vincent.   
  
"Here, try this for me?"  
  
He poured out the mixture on Vincent's right arm, which immediately began to sizzle and blister up.  
He suppressed a scream, but was determined not to give Hojo the pleasure. He bit down on his teeth so hard he heard a crack and concentrated on that new pain. Eventually, when he could take it no longer, Vincent passed out from the incredible pain.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Vincent awoke the same way he had every day for as long as he could remember. Strapped to that damnable table, dressed in the strange black and red cloak. But this time, there was a difference. He couldn't feel his right arm. He glanced over at it, and was shocked to find that it had been replaced with some kind of metal substitute. He heard the door open and Hojo strode in, humming as usual.  
  
"What the hell did you do to me?!"  
  
Hojo grinned. He was obviously going to enjoy this.  
  
"You like it? It's just a little improvement I made. Your arm was damaged in my little experiment yesterday. I decided to pity you and replace it with this. It's much stronger, you should thank me."  
  
"Thank you?!"  
  
Hojo laughed, but this time it seemed different. He convulsed with almost maniacal laughter. This went on for several minutes, until he finally spoke again.  
  
"I'm going to let you take part in my greatest work, Vincent. You should be honored." "What are you going to do?!"  
  
"Oh, nothing really. Just inject you with some cells from the alien we found in the Crater.  
  
"You mean JENOVA?!"  
  
"But of course. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that Lucrecia is also in the last stages of her therapy." "You injected her too?!"  
  
"Why yes, I believe I did. Our child is going to be very special, Vincent. He's going to take over the world for me, and pave the way for JENOVA's rule."  
  
**********************************************************************************  
Sephiroth jumped when he heard that.   
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Vincent glared at him   
  
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"  
  
Hojo laughed again.  
  
"I think not. Here, this is for you." He jammed an insanely long needle into Vincent's shoulder. His vision went red as he passed out.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Vincent awoke in the same dreary room, but this time he was completely nude and suspended in some kind of green fluid inside one of the JENOVA pods. He saw Hojo's face leering at him from the other side of the glass. He spoke, and to Vincent's surprise, he could hear him perfectly.  
  
"Guess what Vincent?"  
  
"Lucrecia gave birth this morning."  
  
Of course, Vincent couldn't respond.  
  
"It's a boy. 8 pounds. Green eyes."  
  
Vincent felt his heart sink. He had kept alive some hope he would see Lucrecia again, but for some reason now he felt he would never see her again. Hojo had won, and he didn't know what he had planned for him now.  
  
"Guess what else Vincent?!"  
  
Hojo began another one of his laughing fits suddenly.  
  
"Lucrecia's dead!"  
  
Hojo laughed insanely. Vincent's heart stopped for a moment As it slowly began to beat again, what Hojo had said dawned on him. Lucrecia was gone. Dead.  
  
"In case you're wondering, I didn't kill her. She died during childbirth."  
  
Vincent felt terrible. As if a great gaping pit had opened up within him and swallowed his heart and everything.  
  
He snickered again.   
"I never even let her hold him, Vincent." "She begged and pleaded as she bled to death. She looked so innocent and sweet, but in the end, she was a whore. She put out for you at the first sign of a little trouble. I give her a little beating and she goes running to you. She was weak. That's why she died. But our child is strong. He carries the power of JENOVA and the Ancients. He is destined to rule. Like me."  
  
Vincent could hear his heart beating he was so angry. Lucrecia was dead. He hadn't been there, he had failed her. And now, Hojo was here, gloating over him, proof of his failures. Vincent's anger gradually deteriorated in to sadness. This was all his fault.   
  
Hojo turned for a moment and began to laugh again. He was obviously completely mad.  
  
"Vincent, I gave you the same injections I gave my son, but they should have a different effect on you, since I didn't mix them with mako. You may begin to experience some.....changes in your appearance soon."  
  
Vincent was lost in thought. He didn't know what to think or feel. Lucrecia was gone. Gone..gone.....gone.....gone....gone...it became a mantra in his mind.  
  
"Oh, Vincent. Wouldn't you like to know his name.....?"  
  
Vincent was staring straight ahead, shocked out of his wits.  
  
"I rather like it. I thought it up myself. It's very symbolic. Name after the Orbs of Life in the Wutain sects.  
and his name is........"  
  
  
"Sephiroth."  
  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
  
Sephiroth's heart stopped.  
  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
CLICHE!!!! no, but it's going to get very original, don't worry. And from here on out, it's pretty much gonna be all Sephiroth, all the time. Thanks, and please R & R.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Escape?

Leaving Sorrow Behind  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Escape?  
  
(Please note that I will no longer write Sephiroth's reactions in the lifestream anymore, as it is too difficult to switch between the two storylines. Just assume it's a given.)  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth awoke to complete darkness. It had been this way ever since the mysterious voice had shown him who his father truly was. Hojo. The person he hated most. That coniving sniveling little rat Hojo. The Hojo who had killed his mother - his REAL mother, Lucrecia. Sephiroth had screamed and howled and cursed and begged and pleaded for it not to be true after he had seen and heard it with his own eyes and ears, but there was no one there to hear it. He had ranted and raved and fallen back into madness for a time, but he had his head about him now. The gentle green glow that had surrounded him had disappeared several days ago, leaving him in darkness. He had had plenty of time to think. It must have been at least a week since he had stopped screaming out, and began just sitting, staring straight ahead into nothing. Was this his fate? To sit here and ponder his own low origins? He had been doing just that for these 'days' which were really nothing more than waking periods in the darkness before the sleep and horrifying nightmares claimed him. But, something seemed different today. He could dimly see the screen in front of him again, and the glow had somewhat returned around him. But, what he noticed most, was the dim outline of a person against the white screen.  
  
"Good morning Sephiroth."  
  
Damn, the voice sounded almost cheerful.  
  
Sephiroth didn't hesitate. He rushed the outline preparing to attack it with every ounce of his warrior's training. He was knocked back quite painfully by some kind of barrier.  
  
"It's good to see that you are still feisty as ever."  
  
The voice sounded nonchalant, and had even used a word like fiesty. Apparently, whoever this was didn't understand the torment he'd been enduring.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
He growled, hoping whoever it was had come to end his life.  
  
"I am suprised you do not remember me, it has only been a few days."  
  
"Oh, you're that voice, come to show me more lies?"  
  
Deep down though, he knew it wasn't a lie.  
  
"If you wish to see them as lies and try to fool yourself, that is your desicion, but I am here to show you the rest of your life."  
  
"I will reveal myself to you in time, Sephiroth, but for now, you must watch."  
  
The outline disappeared in a flash of light, and the room was as it was before. He was sitting in the red leather chair with nicks and cuts, facing a large white screen, like a movie theater, he had thought.  
  
The screen jumped to life again, and Sephiroth settled himself in the chair to watch.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Five year old Sephiroth sat completely nude on a cold metal table in an equally cold metal room. The freezing cold of the metal on bare butt would have been enough to make a normal person jump up as soon as the cold reached them. Sephiroth endured however, knowing Hojo would punish him with more injections if he didn't. Sephiroth sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Hojo wasn't very punctual, as he'd been brought to this room by the guards almost 5 hours earlier. He was considering taking a short nap,  
  
when the door swung open and Hojo entered, glaring intently at a clipboard. He walked right up to Sephiroth and stood before him, still looking over the clipboard with a look of near contempt on his face.  
  
"You only ran 50 miles yesterday."  
  
His mouth turned up in a sneer.  
  
Sephiroth wanted to shout that he shouldn't have to run half of that, but knew he would suffer severe consequences if he did. Sephiroth was sure he could beat the hell out of Hojo, but he didn't know about the Shinra soldiers, constantly on patrol.  
  
"That's an embarrasment. You're running 65 tonight, and you won't sleep or eat until you finish them all."  
  
Sephiroth didn't care. He was used to frequent sleep depravation and starvation. Hojo finally glanced up from the clipboard and stared right into his eyes.  
  
"What have you got to say to that?"  
  
Sephiroth lowered his head, and spoke softly, knowing that Hojo liked to feel like he was in control.  
  
"I'm sorry I've displeased you, sir."  
  
Hojo smirked for a moment, then turned away from him. As soon as Sephiroth raised his head, he whirled and slapped him across the face.  
  
"Don't smart off. You know I hate smart asses."  
  
Sephiroth supressed a groan. The slap hadn't hurt, but the man was so full of himself Sephiroth had barely been able to choke down the sound.  
  
He grabbed hold of Sephiroth's upper arm and jabbed a needle into, injecting it's multicolored contents into his arm. Sephiroth passed out almost instantly as pain shot through his entire body, like a million needles pricking him all over.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Sephiroth awoke laying on his bed, dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a gray shirt. A glance at the clock on his wall told him it had only been an hour since Hojo had given him the injection.  
  
As if on cue, the door swung open and Hojo strode confidently into the room, still holding that damn clipboard. Sephiroth wanted to beat him to death with it.  
  
"Are you ready to run?"  
  
He almost laughed at his own little "joke", if it could even be called that.  
  
Sephiroth nodded and jumped up off the bed. It didn't matter. A good run would work some of the soreness out of his muscles.  
  
Hojo wheeled and exited the room, followed closely by Sephiroth, who knew what would happen if he "fell to far behind."  
  
They turned and entered a room with mirrors covering all but one wall, directly behind him. He had long ago figured out there were people behind those mirrors watching him. Hojo shoved him toward a treadmill in the center of the room, the only other thing in the barren chamber.  
  
"Run. I'll stop you when you've run enough."  
  
He turned. and began to walk away, when he stopped.  
  
"Oh yes, I've decided you're going to break the 70 mile mark today. So you'll be going for 75."  
  
Sephiroth's jaw dropped. He'd never run that much, he knew he would probably pass out somewhere around 65 miles.  
  
Hojo laughed in his own insane shoulder-convulsing way and stalked out of the room.  
  
Sephiroth growled and jumped onto the treadmill and began to run. No sense in wasting time...  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Sephiroth was panting heavily as he rounded the 60 mile mark. He had run this much before, but never back to back sets though like Hojo had him running now. His vision swayed and wobbled, and he stumbled on as if he were drunk. He glanced down at his feet , straining to keep up with the grueling pace Hojo had set for him. He found that it helped if he focused on something else, so he chose the ceiling. Glancing up he began to count the little dots and imperfections in it. Five minutes later, he glanced back at the readout on the treadmill. He felt like crying. He had only run 2 miles in the past half hour. He was so worn out that he felt death would have been a better alternative than finishing Hojo's 75 miles. But he kept going. For himself. He'd show Hojo. He knew that Hojo didn't think he could finish the miles, and was using this as an excuse to punish and abuse him.  
  
(I'll show you...)  
  
It became a mantra in his head. He just kept repeating it and glaring straight ahead. He gradually felt his pace increasing. Just a few more. He glanced at the readout again. 65 miles?! He still had 10 more to go.  
  
(I'll show you...)  
  
He increased his pace again. He was struggling to inhale now, his sprint had taken the wind right out of him, but he continued to increase his pace. He felt as if his lungs were going to implode. He began gasping raggedly for air, but he could draw none in to his aching chest. He galnced at the readout again. 68 miles...  
  
only a few more... he began to count them down in his head, pushing aside his mental chant of "I'll show you".  
  
7....a few minutes passed.  
  
6....a few more minutes....  
  
5....he had just broken seventy miles, but he didn't have any time to celebrate.  
  
4....just four more...  
  
3....His energy long gone, he plodded along, barely at a jog now. He exhaled and exhaled, but found he could not inhaled but tiny gulps of air.  
  
2...  
  
(Come on!)  
  
1...Sephiroth passed out just as he hit 75 miles, his face slamming into the treadmill console on the way down, but he was beyond pain now.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Sephiroth awoke back in his cell...the same way he had for as long as he could remember. His 'breakfast'  
  
had already been delivered, it lay just inside the narrow slot at the bottom of his door. He tried to lift himself up off the bed to retrieve it, and pain shot through every inch of his body. He yelped and stopped moving abruptly. The images of yesterday's exploits came racing back into his mind. He sighed and slowly  
  
moved back a bit so he could rest the upper half of his body on the wall. He glanced at the disgusting food again.  
  
(Well, I wasn't really hungry anyway.)  
  
He felt the cool of the cement wall against his back and it eased the pain a little bit. His shirt had been gone when he had awoken. He was clad only in a pair of black sweat pants now. He glanced at his watch. 17:00 hours.... Hojo would be coming for him soon. Who knew what horrors he had planned for today.  
  
He heard footsteps coming up the hall... Hojo, no doubt, right on time. The door swung open and Hojo entered, with the clipboard. He glanced at Sephiroth and examined the clipboard, the same as he did every day. He looked back up at Sephiroth.  
  
"I was pleased with your progress yesterday."  
  
Sephiroth sat up off the wall in shock, causing a surge of pain.  
  
Had Hojo just complemented him?  
  
"D-Did I hear you correctly, sir?"  
  
Hojo laughed.  
  
"Yes you did. I never thought you would be able to run that much in one set."  
  
"However, since the gene treatment is responsible for your incredible endurance, we've decided to double the dosage. You will receive two shots now, one in the morning, and one at night."  
  
Sephiroth glared ahead, stoically. He should have known Hojo would have someting like this planned for him.  
  
"Your training excercises will also be doubled."  
  
Sephiroth was still just staring straight ahead at him. He was so sore he couldn't move at all, let alone do any form of training.  
  
"However, even I understand the human body has its limits,"  
  
He began,  
  
"And therefore, I'm giving you today to rest."  
  
Sephiroth wanted to jump for joy, but the state of his body stopped him.  
  
Hojo was actually showing compassion for once in his life.  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
Hojo pushed his glasses up with one finger and his expression turned harsh.  
  
"But don't you get used to this, because tomorrow it's going to be worse than its ever been."  
  
"...yes sir."  
  
Hojo turned and stalked out of the room, and the door slammed shut behind him.  
  
Sephiroth slowly sank back on to his pillow and fell into a deep restful sleep.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
Sephiroth slowly drifted back into conciousness. It was completely dark, in his room, and out in the hall.  
  
He had never awoken at this hour before. Usually one of the guards would slip him something in his food or drink which would keep him out for a while, but since he hadn't eaten, he had been able to wake up much earlier than he normally would. A glance at his watch told him it was...about three in the morning.  
  
Since he wasn't tired at all, he decided to try out his legs and see if they were any better. It was no surprise to him when he was able to stand up without any trouble. He had always healed incredibly fast. He felt stronger, more agile.  
  
He walked over to the door where his breakfast lay, some kind of insect now eating at it. He kicked it aside, and the rat sized ant hissed angrily and scuttled out the slot in the door the food had come in.  
  
He lay down on the floor and glanced out into the hallway. The only light came from a yellow lamp that had been left on in an office across the hall. It gave the hallway an eerie glow. He stood and looked around the room. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.  
  
Escape.  
  
Freedom awaited him just on the other side of this door. He glanced up at the ceiling. It seemed so far away, but if he could just knock one of the panels out and get up into the airshafts, he might have a chance of reaching the outside of the building, or at least escaping his cell. He looked at his bed. It was firmly bolted to the floor to prevent its aide in any such escape.He glanced down in thought. His eyes rested on a pair of old boots. An idea shot into his mind. He picked up one of the shoes and unlaced it he then used his fingers to streth the old worn material out in several of the holes for the laces. He grabbed the sheet from his bed and forced it through the enlarged holes in the shoe. He tied it in a knot around the boot. he then curled the rest of it into as ropelike a form as possible. He propped his matress up on the wall and climbed up to the top of it. He fell a few times, but eventually he balanced himself on top of it.  
  
He picked up the other boot and heaved it at the ceiling. It took a few tries, but he eventually knocked one of the panels loose. He grabbed the boot he had laced the sheet through and swung around his head like a lasso, and then up into the hole. Again, it took him quite a few tries, but eventually it hooked onto something sturdy enough to support his weight. He pulled himself up it into the ceiling. He glanced at his watch.  
  
"3:45?!"  
  
He caught himself before he could curse, but he was astounded by that fact that what had seemed only like a few moments had actually been 3/4 of an hour.  
  
He muttered a curse under his breath and began to crawl forward. He crawled for about five minutes until he reached what he felt like must be the hall. He cautously pushed aside one of the ceiling plates and glanced down. Sure enough, he was right over the hall. He dropped down into the hallway, and immediately took off running towards the stairwell. He would be caught if he attempted to use the elevators, which were under constant surveillance. He glanced at the number on the wall. Floor 68... well, this wouldn't be too hard. Not as hard as running 75 miles at least.  
  
He began down the stairs as fast as he could, running at a furious pace. He could have sworn the entire building could hear his heartbeat. He increased his pace. The floors seemed to race by. 60, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55,... He just kept running. Eventually he reached the end of the stairs. But.. he was only on floor 35.  
  
He glanced around franctically. No one had noticed his escape yet, he was sure, but he needed to be far far from here by the time they did.  
  
He pulled a metal panel out of the wall and glanced up and down inside. Just as he suspected, a water pipe ran the length of the wall inside of it. He was pretty sure he could take this all the way to the ground.  
  
He forced his body into the shaft, cutting his back and chest in the process. Some blood dripped on the floor next to the door. He glanced back, and cursed. Now they would know he had come this way.  
  
He began to shimmy down the pipe as fast as he could, not bothering to close the maitenance door behind him. Eventually, the light from the stairwell was left behind and he was descending in pitch darkness.  
  
He climbed for what seemed like an eternity until his feet rested on the something solid. He dropped off the pipe and felt around on the walls for any sort of door. He felt something cold and metallc under his hands and slammed his shoulder into it, popping open another maitenance hatch. He pulled himself out into...  
  
A bathroom.  
  
It was dark except for a light on over the sink, and he could barely see to slam shut the hatch behind him and hurried over to the sink. He quickly rinsed out his cuts and used some paper towels to stop the bleeding. He moved over to the door and pushed it open, peeking out.  
  
He seemed to be on the upper half of the first floor. A group of guards were standing in front of the main entrance sipping some kind of drink, and laughing quietly about something. He inched out into the hall and slowly closed the door behind him. He moved along the wall over to a shop of some kind and slipped inside. Glancing around, the first thing he saw was a huge window. He rushed over to it and looked for some way to open it. Finding nothing, he knew he would have to break it to escape. He moved back over to the door and checked on the guards again. They seemed quite far away, but he knew the sound would echo  
  
in the stillness. He moved back into the shop and grabbed a shirt off of one of the models and wrapped it around his hand. He ran over to the window and began to punch it, trying to cause as little noise as possible. Eventually it broke, quieter than he would have expected. He cleared away a hole large enough to fit his body through and pulled himself out onto a walk that ran around the building. He spotted a ladder which led down the side of the building to the ground and quickly began down it. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he knew he was home free. He began to run as quickly as he could, only glancing back to notice the giant glowing SHINRA sign over the entrance to the building. And then he was lost in the shadows of the night. 


	6. Night Out

Leaving Sorrow Behind Chapter 6 Night Out  
  
  
  
Sephiroth sprinted as fast and as hard as he could away from the Shinra building. He was already beginning to suspect some sort of a ruse, no one ever got away from Shinra so easily, especially not one of Hojo's little pets. It didn't matter. He reached the train station that ran down into the slums. He wasn't sure where he would go from there, but he needed to get as far away from the Shinra building as possible.  
  
He was about to board the train when he remembered that not many people on the train were missing a shirt and shoes, which he currently was. Not to mention Shinra's precious ID scanner. He wondered if he even had an ID on file. Either way, it would go off. He would have to find another way down. That meant climbing down the outside of the Plate. He would need at least shoes.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
One of the Shinra soldiers was eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"You gonna get on, or not?!"  
  
Here was his oppurtunity.  
  
"Ah....ah God!!"  
  
Sephiroth grabbed his stomach and fell down on the ground moaning in agony.  
  
"Hey.... hey are you alright?!"  
  
The soldier started to head over to him.  
  
"Tell the train to get going. I've gotta help this kid!"  
  
The conductor nodded, and the train pulled away from the platform. Sephiroth continued to writhe around on the ground until the train had passed completely. By then, the soldier had propped him up against the wall, and was asking him his name.  
  
Sephiroth let his eyes roll back in his head, and slumped forward.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?!"  
  
He waited until the soldier started to lift up his head, and then...  
  
"OOF!"  
  
Sephiroth punched the guard in the crotch as hard as he could, and spit a mouthful of bile into his face.  
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
Sephiroth jumped to his feet, and gave the guard a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking him out. He slumped to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth where Sephiroth kicked him.  
  
Sephiroth snickered. Shinra soldiers were notorious pushovers.  
  
He took the Soldier's clothes and put them on over his black sweatpants. He decided to pass on the Soldier's helmet until the train returned. He picked up the Soldier's rifle and stood at attention near the platform. After about 15 minutes, the train returned. He quickly donned the soldier's smelly helmet as the doors hissed open and passengers began to file out. No one had been waiting to get on at the station.  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
Sephiroth turned. An officer had addressed him.  
  
"Uh, yeah, seems like it."  
  
The officer eyed him suspiciously.  
  
"What happened to your voice?"  
  
"Uh, strep throat, or something like that."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
The officer did not sound convinced.  
  
"Didn't you used to be taller?"  
  
"Yeah, but then I got these new boots. It was becoming a real problem, going through those low doorways and all."  
  
The officer shrugged.  
  
"Whatever. Hurry up, I want to get out of this God-forsaken place. Gives me the creeps."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Sephiroth stepped onto the train and took a seat near the front. The officer checked to make sure that no one else was running to get on, and waved the 'all clear' to the conductor. The train began it's descent down Midgar's central pillar, picking up a lot of speed. Noticing a monitor, Sephiroth got up to inspect it. According to the display, the ID scanner wasn't for another few minutes. He plopped back down in his seat, bone tired. The scuffle with the soldier had opened up the gash he received while escaping again, and he was bleeding profusely. Fortunately, the soldier's uniform was red, and the officer didn't seem to notice. He tucked his hand inside his jacket and jammed two fingers into the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. The officer eyed him suspiciously again.  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just cut myself shaving this morning."  
  
"You shave your chest?"  
  
"You don't?"  
  
The officer shrugged again, and let it drop, although he kept a wary eye on Sephiroth.  
  
A red light suddenly engulfed the train. The officer sighed.  
  
"I get so damn tired of that thing. Gives me a fuckin' headache."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sephiroth forced out a nervous laugh.  
  
Suddenly, an alram began to blare, and red lights came on in the train's interior.  
  
"WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT!"  
  
Sephiroth nearly passed out, as the computer repeated the phrase over and over.  
  
The officer jumped to his feet and drew his sword.  
  
(Well, this is the end for me...)  
  
"What are you doing just sitting there?!"  
  
"Go check the last three cars, I'll handle things up here!"  
  
"Uh, right!"  
  
Sephiroth turned and sprinted down the hallway. Reaching the safety of the second car, he pulled the soldier's helmet off and threw the door open. They were still remarkably far from the ground. He'd be killed if he jumped from up here. He'd have to climb up onto the roof. Grabbing the top of the frame of the door, he pulled his legs up off the ground and swung himself back and forth twice before back-flipping up onto the roof, barely avoiding a steel girder that whizzed by. He kicked the door shut below him, just in time to hear the Officer's muffled cry of "Hey!" He made his way towards the front of the train, shedding the soldier's armor as he went, until he was clad only in his black sweat pants.  
  
He crouched low, lying flat on the top of the train. The griders were gradually getting closer and closer to the top of the train. He'd be nothing but a smear on one of them if he didn't do something quick. He swung his legs over the side of the train, and carefully pulled himself down, until he was hanging onto the side of the train. Now, he just had to hang here until the train reached the station. Judging from how far they still were from the ground, it would be a good ten minutes before he could safely jump off. After what seemed like an eternity had passed, the train was only about 20 feet from the roofs of some building near the base of the corkscrew pillar. Sephiroth shut his eyes, and let go of the roof.  
  
"Warrrg!!"  
  
Sephiroth smashed through the building's roof, and landed on a very surprised woman.  
  
"What the hell ?!"  
  
"Some damn kid just came through the roof! He landed on Margie!"  
  
Sephiroth heard voices around him, but for some reason, his body wasn't responding.  
  
"U-Uhhh..."  
  
"Geez, he's alive! Get him over onto the bed!"  
  
"Hey, what about me!"  
  
"Psssht, you've had worse."  
  
Sephiroth could now pick out four distinct voices. He tried to speak again, but for some reason his mouth refused to form the words.  
  
"Go get the Doctor! Hurry!"  
  
"Son, can you hear me?! What's your name?"  
  
"Uhhh...."  
  
He felt something cool and wet on his face. Sephiroth's last thoughts were of how comforting it was...  
  
**************************************************************************** *****************************  
  
"Wake up, Sephiroth. Today you're really going to-"  
  
Hojo blinked  
  
"Where is he?!"  
  
Hojo ran down to the front desk with his heart in his throat.  
  
"Did anyone remove Number 1 from his cell this morning?!"  
  
The gum chewing receptionist typed something into the computer.  
  
"Nah. No one's taken him out."  
  
"Son of a BITCH!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Sephiroth awoke some time later. He was in a dark room, and could hear people snoring. He sat up, and tried to get out of the bed, only to have an excrutiating pain shoot through his head.  
  
"Ah..."  
  
Someone moved in the room.  
  
"So you're finally awake!" "I thought you were a goner."  
  
Sephiroth turned his head in the direction of the speaker.  
  
"Where.....Where am I?"  
  
"You're in Sector 6. This is my house. You crashed through the roof and landed on my wife's sister, 'bout gave us all a heart attack."  
  
"Sorry...it couldn't be helped."  
  
The man laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I don't imagine it could have been."  
  
"How long have I been out for?"  
  
"About 3 days now. You hit your head pretty hard on a girder when you crashed through the ceiling. We thought you'd be paralyzed or something."  
  
Three days.... the Shinra would had to have been looking for him by now... and he was sure there were pictures up everywhere.  
  
"Uh, do you have a TV?"  
  
He figured he'd at least see if they were running it on television too.  
  
"Yeah. Don't worry though, we won't turn you in."  
  
Sephiroth's heart jumped  
  
"You know?"  
  
"Yeah. Saw some pictures up down at wall market. I couldn't figure out why the Shinra would be after a little kid. What'd you do, son?"  
  
Sephiroth sneered.  
  
"Nothing. I just escaped from one of their damnable laboratorys."  
  
"Lab? Why were you in a lab?"  
  
"Psht. Even I don't know."  
  
"Well, now that you're up, why don't you come and eat something?"  
  
Sephiroth realized he was incredibly hungry.  
  
"Yes, thank you, I'm starved."  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Hojo nervously collected his thoughts before going into President Shinra's office. How was he going to explain another failure? First the ancient child, now this.  
  
A turk stepped out. The bald one, what was his name? Oh yeah, Rude. The kid couldn't be anymore than 18.  
  
"President Shinra will see you now."  
  
"Uh, yes."  
  
Hojo hobbled into President Shinra's huge office.  
  
"What have you got to report, Hojo?"  
  
"Uh...Well,.. we still haven't found Number 1"  
  
"Why? I thought that you said that he would be caught within a day."  
  
"Well...he hasn't gone into withdrawal as soon as we thought he would."  
  
"The drugs?"  
  
"Right. We've been mixing them in with his food for quite some time now, and we're sure he's quite addicted."  
  
"How soon until he goes into withdrawal?"  
  
"Another 2 days at the most. As soon as he's brought to a hospital, we'll recapture him."  
  
"I hope so....for your sake."  
  
**************************************************************************** *****************************  
  
The man watched Sephiroth drain his third bowl of soup. For a little kid, he sure ate a lot.  
  
"How's your head feeling?"  
  
Sephiroth glanced up from his soup.  
  
"A lot better. Are you a doctor?"  
  
"Sort of. I'm not qualified or anything, but I know what I'm doing."  
  
The man was amazed at how intelligent Sephiroth sounded.  
  
"How old are you , son?"  
  
"I really don't know. Somewhere around ten, I think."  
  
"Ten?! Why would the Shinra have a ten year old locked up in a lab?! Do your parents know about this? Are they looking for you?"  
  
"I never met my parents. I've been living there for as long as I can remember."  
  
"Damn..."  
  
"Uh, if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"  
  
"My name? Oh, it's Daniel."  
  
"Daniel? Oh, well, I'm Sephiroth, as you probably already know."  
  
"Well, Sephiroth, what are you going to do now?"  
  
"I'm really not sure. I think I'm going to head for Kalm. Ultimately, I'd like to make it to Junon, and cross the ocean."  
  
"That's quite a ways."  
  
"Yeah. I need to get as far away from the Shinra as possible."  
  
"Hmmm... I don't have a car, so I can't help you there..."  
  
"It's alright. It's probably better that I travel on foot anyhow. The Shinra will probably be checking cars and the like."  
  
"Hm, well the least I can do for you is give you some clothes. Wait here for a moment."  
  
Daniel disappeared into the darkened bedroom and returned a few moments later with a Black T-shirt, grey sweater, and a pair of boots with socks stuffed into them.  
  
" This is all I can spare. We're not exactly rich, as you've probably noticed."  
  
"It's more than I could ask for."  
  
Daniel rubbed his chin for a moment.  
  
"Hang on, I've got something else I can give you."  
  
He returned a few moments later with a pair of green orbs.  
  
"Do you know what this is?"  
  
"Oh, it's materia! I used it all the time when I was with the Shinra."  
  
"Yeah. I figured you'd better take this with you. You're bound to run in to trouble somewhere between here and Junon."  
  
"Which kind is it?"  
  
"It's Restore and Lightning. I haven't used it at all, so it's not charged. You'll have to use it a bit to power it up."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sephiroth had finished dressing himself, and was lacing up the boots.  
  
"Your hair will attract a lot of attention. Do you want me to cut it for you?"  
  
"No, it'll just grow back anyways. It only takes it an hour or two. It's the side effect of some drug they give me."  
  
"Oh. Well, here."  
  
He tossed Sephiroth a ski hat.  
  
"Run it down the back of your shirt, and then pull the hat down over it."  
  
"Right."  
  
Sephiroth ran his hair down the back of his shirt, and tucked his bangs up under the hat.  
  
"Well, it seems you're all set."  
  
"I"m sorry I can't do anything to repay you for your kindness."  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's been a long time since I've been able to help somebody."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Sephiroth turned and made his way to the door. They shook hands and said their goodbyes, and Sephiroth disappeared into the shadows around the Daniel's house.  
  
(Alright, he said I'm in Sector Six....so, I need to find either a train station, or a sewer....)  
  
Unfortunately, the latter was what he found first. There was a manhole right next to Daniel's house. Sephiroth reached down and pried the top off, and descended into the murky depths of the sewer.  
  
It was dark, only the occasional light bathed the place in an eerie orange light. It was like something out of one of those horror books he'd read at Shinra. It didn't matter to him. Sewers were notorious for their monsters, both human and otherwise, but he felt much safer now that he had some materia.  
  
Fortunately for him, directions were printed on the walls.  
  
(Hmmm... Sector 7, Sector 8, Sector 1....I think Sector 1 is the closest gate...)  
  
The path branched into three sectons. He chose the left path, the one that would hopefully take him to Sector 1. Sephiroth had never been outside of the Shinra building before, so he had no idea what to expect in the sewer. He knew what sewers were meant for, but he also knew that gangs and monsters frequently made their homes in them. Especially the latter. A loud roar echoed down the corridor, followed by a terrified squeal of some sort.  
  
(Speak of the Devil...)  
  
A sahagin rounded the bend ahead of him, impaled on its' trident, the head of some unlucky gang member. It roared again and swung the trident, flinging the severed head at him. Sephiroth easily batted it aside with his forearm and chanted a quick Bolt. The azure spark fried the Sahagin, the smell of burnt flesh stinging his nostrils. Sephiroth nodded in satisfaction. He was afraid that the materia hadn't been used in such a long time that it had completely lost its' power.  
  
Most of the monsters he'd find in the sewer would be water based, so he could count on the Lightning materia to be a very effective weapon. Continuing down many twists and turns, he eventually reached a dead end.  
  
(What the hell?)  
  
Noticing light streaming in from above, he glanced up and saw the distant manhole the was the exit from this hellhole. Unfortunately, he could see no way to reach it. There was no ladder, it looked like it had been torn out of the wall. After several failed attempts to scale said wall, Sephiroth finally gave up.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Can anyone hear me up there?!"  
  
Realizing that the wrong kind of people might come to 'help' he quickly determined that this wasn't a viable course of action. He'd have to find some way to climb up and out. A roar sounded down the darkened passageway, this one much deeper and longer than the one that the Sahagin had made. Spying an old coil of rope, Sephiroth realized he could make a grappling hook if he could ifnd something that would stick in the the street up above. As he was searching for something, the monster made its' appearance. It looked like a cross between a shark and a goat, but that wasn't what Sephiroth was noticing. It had two VERY large incisors. Just what he needed. Unfortunately, this particular monster was about 5 times his height.  
  
"uh..."  
  
Remembering the Lightning materia, he chanted Bolt. The monster glowed green as the spell ricocheted off its' Reflect, and back into Sephiroth's chest, sending him flying into the wall. His voice barely worked as he chanted Cure, and barely had time to move before the monster's spiked tail slammed into the wall where he had just been.  
  
(Well, this is it. I'm gonna die here.)  
  
He had no weapons that would work against the monster, punching it would do no good, and Reflect nulled his magic. Not to mention he didn't feel that familiar little click in the back of his head when he voiced another Cure, indicating his Manna was depleted. The monster's claw slammed into him, again opening the gash in his chest along with two new ones. Lying stunned against the wall, Sephiroth noticed a length of pipe next to him. He ordered himself to reach for it, but he ahd been knocked nearly senseless by the monster's last strike. He feebly grasped the pipe in one hand, and raised it to parry the mosnters' next blow, which sent the pipe spinning from his hand and into the putrid water below.  
  
The monster leaned in, its' mouth only inches from his face. Its' fetid breath blasted him, it in itself almost a knockout punch. Its' forked tongue snaked out and the monster ran it over his face. It opened its' mouth, about to bite him in two....  
  
Sephiroth grabbed the monster's left incisor and yanked with all his might. As he suspected, the tooth was rotten, the result of all the rancid meat clinging to it. The monster shrieked in agony, and fell to its' knees, cradling its' jaw. Sephiroth plunged the incisor into its' eye, pulled it loose, and then stabbed it in the other eye. He followed with a kick to its' jaw that knocked the stunned monster onto its' back. Grinning, Sephiroth climbed up on top of the monster's heaving chest, and plunged his tooth dagger into its' heart. The monster screeched, a spray of red shooting from its' mouth as Sephiroth twisted the tooth in the wound. He slid off of its' chest and down to the ground, breathing heavily. Deciding that the monster's death cries had probably alerted others in the area, he quickly wrapped the rope around the tooth and tied it in a knot. It took several tries, but the huge tooth finally dug into something, and Sephiroth was able to climb up the rope, just as the first curious sahagin arrived. 


	7. On the Run

Leaving Sorrow Behind Chapter 7 On the Run  
  
* I know I haven't updated in millenia, but you know what helps me write faster? Reviews. It's true. I never thought I would have to do something like this, but how do I know if people are even reading it if you don't write a review? If I don't get some reviews this chapter, I'm gonna take this story down, as it seems no one is interested. I went back and reread the story, and I have to apologize for all the typographical errors. Believe me, they are not intentional.  
  
  
  
The tooth stuck in something solid, and Sephiroth pulled himself up and out of the manhole, and into the very angry face of some gang member. He was at the end of an alley, and several more people were sitting lazily on a dumpster near the entrance.  
  
"What the fuck you doin on our turf, punk?"  
  
Sephiroth shrugged, and yanked the tooth out of the ground. "I'm just passing through. If you'll step aside, I'll be on my way." Sephiroth tried to move around the punk, but he moved and blocked his way. Three other gang members joined him.  
  
"Not tonight! And especially not a freak like you! Tonight, you must pay a toll.."  
  
He shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have any money."  
  
"Man, I don't want your money."  
  
He gestured at the boots.  
  
"Give me them shoes."  
  
Sephiroth blinked in surprise. "You want my shoes?"  
  
"That's right. Fork em' over."  
  
Sephiroth chuckled. "Yeah, right. Look, just get out of my way, I don't have time to mess around with you now."  
  
The other gang members gasped. The leader looked shocked as well, before his face became contorted with rage. He pulled a butterfly knife out of his belt and advanced on Sephiroth, who remained utterly confident despite being outnumbered, and seemingly outgunned.  
  
"I'll cut your fuckin balls off!"  
  
"Fine. If you really want a fight.."  
  
The boy lunged at him, awkwardly stabbing down at Sephiroth. He easily parried the blow on his forearm, and kicked the boy in the stomach. The knife clattered out of his hand, and Sephiroth picked it up and pocketed it. Leaving the stunned gang leader laying on the ground, he continued out of the alley. He heard the remaining three members jump down of the dumpster and give chase, but he tossed a quick Bolt back into the alley, scattering and stunning them.  
  
He had emerged in another residential section, if it could really be called that. Most of the buildings were so delapitated that they looked like little more than piles of garbage. Unfortunately, now that he was here, he had no idea where to go. Five paths branched off from where he was. Two obviously led deeper into the slums, the third seemed to dead end, and the other two....  
  
Choosing the right path, he stuck to the shadows and pulled his shirt collar up around his face. The last thing he needed was some slummer recognizing him and deciding to try and collect the bounty on him. Eventually, he came to what was apparently a store of some sort. Slipping inside, a rotund shopkeeper greeted him heartily.  
  
"Hello! Hello! Come to buy something?! Look around, we're having a sale!"  
  
"Uh, no, sorry, I just need some directions."  
  
The shopkeeper was visibly disappointed. "Oh...where do you want to go? Oh, we sell maps!"  
  
"How much?"  
  
"Ten gil."  
  
"Hm..." He pulled the butterfly knife out of his pocket, and laid it on the counter.  
  
"How much will you give me for this?"  
  
The shopkeeper examined the knife for a moment before stating, "I'll give you 25 gil for it."  
  
"Fine. Go ahead and give me a map, too."  
  
The shopkeeper dropped a five and a ten piece on the counter, and handed him a ragged old map.  
  
"Ten gil for this?!"  
  
"Hey! No refunds!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
Storming out of the store, Sephiroth pocketed the gil, and unfolded the map. It was crudely drawn, the shopkeeper had obviously made it himself. It was hardly worth has only weapon, but at least he still had the materia. According to the map, he needed to head down the path that was next to this one. He returned to the intersection and chose the left path, the on that would take him to a gate. Once there, all he had to do was head to Kalm. There weren't too many Shinra there. Reaching the gate, Sephiroth saw that there was a large, transparent wall blocking the way. The gate sat in the center of it. Trying to push one of the doors open, he found that it was locked. "Damn!" He cried out in frustration. To have come this far and the be stopped by something as simple as a locked door.... An old woman hobbled down the path behind him. She poked him on the shoulder with her cane. "I saw you tryin' ta open the gate. It don't open till around 5 o'clock."  
  
"Oh." Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"What time is it now?"  
  
She chuckled. "It's only 4. You've got an hour yet."  
  
"Oh, well, thank you. I guess I'll wait here."  
  
"Nonsense! You'll come back to my house and wait."  
  
She grabbed his arm and started to drag him along after her. Eventually, they arrived at an old rundown auto garage. She pulled him inside, and sat him down in a ragged chair.  
  
"You wait here, and I'll go get some you some cookies."  
  
He blinked. Slums people did not have a reputation for being friendly, yet two so far had taken him in.  
  
The woman hobbled back in with a box of cookies. Handing them to him, she sat down in the chair across from him. Sephiroth opened the box to find a cockroach hungrily nibbling on what was left of the cookies. Various other insects crawled about in the box.  
  
"Uh, you know, I'm really not hungry."  
  
"That's fine, that's fine."  
  
They sat in silence for a while as Sephiroth watched a colony of ants begin to carry off one of the cookies. Leaning in for a closer look, he was shocked out of his train of thought by a harsh rap at the door.  
  
"Shinra police! Open up!"  
  
Sephiroth jumped to his feet, as the old woman began to cackle insanely.  
  
"You just wait right there and-"  
  
"You malicious bitch!"  
  
Sephiroth cold-cocked her with a punch to the chin, and dumped her body in front of the door. Running into the old auto garage, he kicked out a section of the wall that had been replaced. He heard the Shinra break down the door, and the muffled curses as one of them tripped over the old hag's body. He sprinted down to the gate.  
  
"Open up, dammit!"  
  
He heard the soldiers stamping down the path behind him. "This way!"  
  
Looking around for some way to scale the wall, Sephiroth finally settled on trying to jump up and grab the top from a trash can he pulled over to the fence. A bullet wizzed past his head as the first Shinra soldier came into view.  
  
"Don't shoot him, you moron! We're supposed to bring him back!" someone shouted.  
  
Drawing their nightsticks, the five soldiers advanced on him, just as he grabbed ahold of the top of the wall. It was sharp, and he just about severed his fingers when he pulled himself up and over it. One of the soldiers grabbed hold of his leg and gave it a good yank, the wall dug into his crotch, slicing the skin of his inner thigh. Crying out in pain, Sephiroth chanted a Bolt and blew the soldier off the trash can and into two others. Dropping down to the other side, Sephiroth winced at the pain in his leg where the wall had cut about an inch deep into the flesh. He took off running away from Midgar as fast as he possibly could with his injured leg. Trying to focus a Cure, all he managed was to help staunch the flow of blood, so low was he in manna. Looking around, he had no idea which direction Kalm was in. Scanning the horizon, he finally picked out a tiny plume of smoke rising from a tiny black dot. He began to sprint towards it as fast as he could. All of that endurance running had sure paid off, and he could probably reach Kalm within an hour. Unfortunately, his leg wouldn't allow that. With his injured leg, all he could manage was a light trot. This wouldn't do at all. Monsters were abundant out away from cities, and he was injured. The smell of blood would travel on the wind, and he'd have his own little herd if he wasn't careful. Sitting down on the ground, Sephiroth ran his hand down his pants and stuck two fingers into the gash. Feeling around, he pinched a vein closed. Using his other hand, he tore a strip of cloth off his shirtsleeve and jammed it into the wound. Removing his fingers, he got shakily to his feet. Taking off in a jog, he continued on towards Kalm.  
  
An hour later, he finally passed through the gates, marking the end to an otherwise uneventful trip, ignoring the stares and gasps he solicited from the townspeople. He immediately made his way to the inn, which luckily for him was near the gate. Opening the door, he staggered over to the counter.  
  
"Give me a room."  
  
The man glanced up, his eyes enlarged to grotesque proportions by the bifocals he was wearing.  
  
"Are your parents around, young man?"  
  
Sephiroth let out an exasperated sigh. He was getting tired of everyone asking where his parents were.  
  
"No. My parents are dead. I think."  
  
The innkeeper blinked.  
  
"Well, normally I don't give rooms to children, but I guess I can make an exception. It'll be 25 gil."  
  
"What? But I've only got 15!"  
  
The innkeeper sighed and opened the cash register. "Don't worry, I'll pick up the rest." He tossed him a key. "Room 15, outside and up the stairs on the right." Sephiroth nodded and gave the innkeeper his Gil. He exited, staggered up the stairs to the room, and let himself in. He didn't take the time to admire the room, and simply collapsed onto the bed, and fell into a deep fitful sleep.  
  
Awaking some time later, Sephiroth decided to take a shower. Flipping on the TV so he could listen to it in the backround, he stepped into the shower, leaving the door to the bathroom open. The news was on, and the two anchormen were making stupid jokes about some kind of sports tour. He groaned and ignored it. It was his first time watching TV, and already he was unimpressed. He stepped out of the shower and began to towel off when he heard something that really caught his attention.  
  
"-Law enforcement officials still looking for escaped mental patient known only as 'Sephiroth'. The boy is approximately 4'6, and his most distinguishing feature is waistlength silver hair. Shinra medicals officials are looking for the boy who has a disease that cause dimetnia and random muscle spasms. The boy needs to be caught for his own good, so the Shinra have provided a one million Gil reward for the boy's capture. However, officials warn that the boy is unstable, and extreme caution should be used if you encouter him. Rather than attempt to capture him yourself, call the Police. In an unrelated story-"  
  
(Great.) He thought, pulling on his clothes. It was only a matter of time when the Shinra were offering that much money. If he was extra lucky, the inn keeper would recognize him and turn him in. He'd never make it to Junon. It was about then that the headache slammed into him.  
  
The pain. Such incredible pain. He had never felt anything like it in his life. He collapsed onto the bed, screaming, and clutching his head. He writhed around for a moment in agony, before falling still. He never even heard the innkeeper break the door down and rush in.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Hojo stormed into President Shinra's office, ignoring the protesting cries of Rude. He stalked up to the desk, seated behind which was a very surprised President Shinra.  
  
"What's the meaning of this?!"  
  
"We've got him."  
  
The president's eyes went wide.  
  
"Number One?!"  
  
Hojo snickered.  
  
"That's right. We captured him in Kalm. He finally went into withdrawal."  
  
"Kalm?! You moron! He made it as far as Kalm?!"  
  
Hojo stepped back, shocked.  
  
"I thought that you would be-"  
  
"What do you think would happen if he made it to Junon?! What if he crossed the ocean?! We'd never find him! Do you have any idea how much money I've poured into this?!"  
  
"We're moving him to a high security area-"  
  
"See to it that he doesn't cause anymore trouble. If he does, I'll cause YOU some trouble."  
  
Hojo fumed. "Yes, sir."  
  
He pivoted on his heel and stalked out of the office.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Sephiroth slowly came to his senses, and was immediately aware that his arms and legs were tightly strapped to a cold metal table. The second thing he realized was that he was nude. He sat up as most as he could, looking around. He suddenly realized where he was.  
  
"Oh shit...."  
  
The door slammed open and Hojo flew at him and immediately began pummeling his face.  
  
"What the fuck is wrong with you, you little prick?! After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me?!"  
  
"Done for me?! You sick fuck!"  
  
He punched him directly in his bare crotch, eliciting a gasp as one of his long ragged nails tore open the cut on his thigh.  
  
"That's right, beat me you coward! You could never fight me like a man!"  
  
Hojo stopped for a moment and rubbed his temple.  
  
"You're right. I shouldn't beat you. I've got something much more fitting for you."  
  
He pulled out a hypodermic needle filled with the multicolored liquid. Sephiroth's eyes widened, and Hojo grinned.  
  
"I think we'll test your tolerance, no?"  
  
He jabbed the needle directly into his nether regions and injected it. The pain was instantaneous.  
  
"Did you like that?!"  
  
He refilled the needle at the counter and injected it again. And again. And again. Sephiroth had never been in so much pain. There wasn't a single part of his body that didn't hurt. He began to convulse and he felt vomit burn his throat, strangling him until he expelled it forcefully. Mercifully, he blacked out.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****************  
  
Hojo nervously entered President Shinra's office. It wasn't like him to summon him so suddenly.  
  
"Hojo! Would you care to explain this?!"  
  
He pressed a button, and a fuzzy image of him injecting Sephiroth at his groin played across the screen.  
  
"I-I can explain!"  
  
"Shut up. You're being considered for termination. You better do something to save your job, Hojo, or you're finished. I've wasted enough time and resources on you, and for what?"  
  
"Number 1 will be the-"  
  
"Number 1 is being sent to SOLDIER. The commander saw his escape on the security cameras and thought he was SOLDIER material."  
  
"WHAT?! No! He's mine! You can't take him! I won't let you!"  
  
President Shinra just laughed.  
  
**************************************************************************** ********************************* Again, let's get some reviews people. So far I'm getting the feeling that not many people are reading this. If so, I'm just wasting my time and would like to know.  
  
Thanks. 


	8. SOLDIER

Leaving Sorrow Behind Chapter 8 SOLDIER  
  
*I got a review last chapter. That makes me happy. So, I guess as long as their are some people out there who continue to read, I'll continue, but I'd really appreciate more reviews. I've seen far shorter stories with over 1000 reviews, and I've got a piddly 8. (Many thanks to those who DID review.) Look people, All I'm looking for is 5 reviews a chapter. I hate to set a quota, I was hoping people would voluntarily review.  
  
  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
The truck bounced hard as it continued down the rocky road. Once out away from Midgar, the roads were no where near as well kept, although even the quality of Midgar's streets left something to be desired. Sephiroth was currently en route to Junon, where he would undergo training to become a SOLDIER. It was not at all the outcome he had expected his little escape fiasco to have. He grinned, thinking back to his final meeting with the abusive Hojo:  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Sephiroth was sound asleep when suddenly the door slammed open and Hojo entered. He grabbed Sephiroth by the shoulders and began shaking him violently.  
  
"Wake up, damn you!"  
  
Sephiroth's eyes snapped open, and he managed a groggy moan. He came to his senses and skewered Hojo with a dirty look.  
  
"What?! What do you want?! Come to give me more injections?"  
  
Hojo looked panicked.  
  
"No! You're coming with me! Come on! Get up, there's not time to get dressed!"  
  
And so Hojo grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him roughly down the hallway. They reached the front desk and rounded the bend, running smack dab into a bald man wearing mirrored sunglasses and a suit. The man simply held up his hand and shook his head, and Hojo released Sephiroth and took a step back.  
  
"No! I won't let you take him!"  
  
Hojo reached into his lab coat and pulled out a gun. As soon as the handle was visible, blood blossomed on his hand as the bald man drew his own gun and shot him, all in the same motion. Hojo screamed and slumped to the floor, cradling his injured hand.  
  
The bald man gestured to two soldiers that had arrived at some point, and they pulled Hojo roughly to his feet as the bald man put a hand on his shoulder and led Sephiroth back to his cell. Sephiroth said nothing, but glared up at the man's hidden eyes. The man led him to his cell, and sat him down on the bed.  
  
"Gather any belongings you might have and get dressed."  
  
"Why?"  
  
The man remained silent. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer, Sephiroth opened the drawer and removed his only possessions, a gray sweat shirt, black sweatpants, and a black t-shirt. He stuffed them into a black duffel bag, and turned to face the man.  
  
"I'm ready."  
  
The bald man chuckled and turned and led him back down the hallway to where three soldiers were now trying to subdue the frantic Hojo.  
  
"NO! I won't let you!"  
  
He broke free from the soldier holding him and lunged at Sephiroth. The soldiers restrained him again, as he continued his ranting. The bald man led him over to the front desk where another man in a lab coat. He handed him three orange bottles.  
  
"Hang on to these. This drug was put in your food, and you'll need to continue to take it or you'll suffer another episode like the one in Nibelheim. We've got you on a small dosage, so by the time you run out, you shouldn't need to take it anymore. Take one pill every time you eat a large meal."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and stuffed the three bottles into the duffel bag. He glanced over at Hojo who was now sobbing hysterically, and threw him a smirk before allowing the bald man to lead him down the hall to a waiting truck.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Sephiroth chuckled at the memory as the truck lurched yet again. He was sitting in the back along with three other kids, all of whom were older than him by at least 5 or 6 years. One of them had tried to make conversation, but he had ignored him. Now they seemed content to simply chat amongst themselves.  
  
Sephiroth leaned back against the wall of the truck and shut his eyes, trying to get some sleep. The bumping of course saw to it that all he got was about half an hour, and when he awoke his neck was incredibly stiff. Sitting up, he moved his head from side to side and cracked his neck. The other three boys were still awake, and attempting to play a game of cards.  
  
He stretched, and leaned back against the canvas wall again, this time leaving his eyes open. Through the window, he could see that the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. The truck lurched violently as it hit another pothole, and Sephiroth was nearly thrown from his seat. One of the boys lifted up the Canvas cover that was over the truck's bed and looked out.  
  
"Hey! I can see Junon!"  
  
The other two crowded around him, trying to get a peek at Shinra's Military Capitol. Sephiroth had never seen Junon before, but he wasn't about to start acting like the other three. It was probably just like Midgar. Dark and depressing. Nothing he hadn't seen before. He sat up and stretched again and yawned. One of the three boys turned to him.  
  
"Aren't you excited?"  
  
Sephiroth said nothing, but stared back at him with his piercing Mako eyes. The boy shrugged and turned back to his companions.  
  
"Wow, look at the canon!"  
  
Sephiroth shook his head. Idiots. But, even he was tempted to lift up the canvas and take a look as the truck passed through the massive arch that marked the entrance to Junon's military base. A few moments later, the truck slowed and stopped, right outside what was apparently the barracks. Almost immediately, a man in a SOLDIER uniform flung open the doors at the back of the truck.  
  
"Out! Out ! Out!"  
  
All four of them scrambled to life, grabbing their bags and jumping down to the tarmac and standing at attention. The man walked back and forth in front of them, examining them. He stopped in front of Sephiroth  
  
"How old are you son?!"  
  
Sephiroth glanced up at the man nervously.  
  
"Uh, ten."  
  
The man's face darkened under his visor.  
  
"Ten?! They sent me a damn ten year old?!"  
  
The truck driver came around and whispered something in the SOLDIER's ear. He came back and stood in front of Sephiroth, and examined him again. "Go with him, he'll take you to see the commander," he said, gesturing at the man who had been driving the truck. Sephiroth grabbed his bag and walked back over to the truck driver as the SOLDIER began screaming at the remaining three boys.  
  
Sephiroth followed the truck driver over towards a tall building. Ignoring the glances he got from the passing SOLDIERs, he followed the man inside. He led Sephiroth to an elevator, and pressed the up button. Stepping inside, they rode the elevator to the top floor. Stepping out, the man led him down to where an elaborate wooden double door decorated an otherwise barren wall.  
  
"Go on in. The commander is waiting for you."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and proceeded through the double doors without hesitation. The 'commander's' office held few decorations, but the ones that were present were certainly noteworthy. An ornate desk sat in the center of the room, a glass covering over the top. At the rear of the room, an ornate sword hung over a large window which looked down onto the courtyard below. On the left wall, a large painting of the Junon Canon hung, and on the right, another painting, this one of waves crashing on a rocky shore.  
  
Sephiroth's eyes finally landed on the commander himself. He was a tall man, with sandy brow hair and a bushy mustache of the same color. He was wearing a SOLDIER uniform, except for his was outlined in silver and black instead of gray and blue. He was currently speaking hurriedly into the intercom on his desk.  
  
"I'll be with you in a minute. Take a seat." He gestured at a plain wooden chair in front of his desk. Sephiroth sat down as the man continued to rant into the intercom. Finally exchanging farewells with whoever had been on the other end, he turned back to Sephiroth.  
  
"You are Sephiroth, correct?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Good. Welcome to the Junon Military Academy. I know you haven't been here long, and in just a little while you'll get a chance to settle in, but for now, I need to talk with you."  
  
Sephiroth nodded slowly, not understanding why he alone had been singled out.  
  
"Listen, and listen well. You are a special case. You have been brought here and enrolled under my recommendation. I saw your little escape fiasco back in Midgar, and was quite impressed. Understand, however, that this arrangement was made as a favor to you. It was a lot of trouble for me to bring you here and get you enrolled, considering the Shinra science department is quite interested in you. What I'm saying is, this arrangement can easily be reversed, and you will be sent back to Midgar if you try to pull any sort of stunt like the one you did there. Understand?"  
  
Sephiroth nodded.  
  
"Good. Then, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Talk to Howell outside there, and he'll take you to your barracks."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and stood, proceeding to the exit. He took one last look back as the man began ranting into the intercom again. The man that had escorted him in was still waiting outside the door. Sephiroth took a moment to examine him before speaking.  
  
"Are you Howell?"  
  
The man simply nodded and motioned towards the elevator. The long ride down seemed even longer thanks to this 'Howell's' almost menacing silence. When they finally reached the bottom, Howell led him out of the elevator and back across the tarmac where SOLDIER's were now engaged in training excercises. The skirted the formation and entered the barracks. Leading Sephiroth down a long series of stairs and hallways, they finally stopped at the entrance to one of the bunkers.  
  
"This is where you'll be staying. Your living quarter's designation will be one-two-eight. You'll have some time to settle in before formation. You have forty-five minutes."  
  
The man pivoted on his heel and walked briskly back down the hallway the way they had come.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Sephiroth pushed the door open and stepped into the room. The first thing he noticed were two bunk beds that occupied the room. The two top bunks and left bottom bunk were occupied by his roommates, none other than the three boys he had ridden in with. They were currently exchanging idle banter when Sephiroth entered. They all sat up at once, but only one of them spoke.  
  
"Well look who it is!"  
  
Sephiroth blinked. The other two leaned back on their beds and continued their conversation, but the one that had spoken to him continued.  
  
"Sorry 'bout those two. They don't have much in the way of manners. Anyhow, there's old one bed left, ya know?"  
  
He motioned at the bunk directly beneath his. Sephiroth sighed and plopped down on the bed, immediately noticing that the mattress was virtually identical to the one he had slept on in Midgar. The boy chuckled.  
  
"Sorry, did you want a top bunk?"  
  
Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't really care." The boy laughed again, before addressing Sephiroth. "You don't say much, do you?" Again, Sephiroth shrugged.  
  
"I have little to talk about."  
  
"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Drake, the one on the top bunk over there is Masahiro, and the one on the bottom bunk is Dietrich."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and regarded the other two who had now turned to look at him. Drake spoke again.  
  
"And you are....?" He questioned.  
  
"Sephiroth."  
  
"Sephiroth, that's an interesting name."  
  
Sephiroth shrugged. "As interesting as a name can be, I suppose." Drake laughed again, and leaned back onto his bunk. He joined in with the other three in their discussion. Sephiroth quickly found out that they were discussing which female celebrity they'd like to fuck most. He'd never much cared for such talk, not to mention at his ten years he was unfamiliar with some of the exotic words they were using. Bored with the conversation, Sephiroth quickly fell into a light sleep.  
  
Sephiroth awoke with a start to the sound of somebody screaming.  
  
"Get up! Get up! Get out! Get out! Get gone! Get gone!"  
  
A SOLDIER drill sergeant was standing in the doorway shouting obscenities at the four boys who were now scrambling out of their bunks and down to the floor where they stood at a nervous attention.  
  
"You got three minutes to get your asses dressed and up to the drill field, or you'll be doing pushups till you can't do em' no more!!"  
  
The sergeant pivoted and exited, and all four began digging through their respective belongings. Sephiroth pulled quickly change out of his sweatshirt and sweatpants and into workout clothes he had been given which consisted of a black tank top and another pair of black sweatpants. Finished dressing, he ran out of the room and down the twisting and turning hallways, up several flights of stairs, and finally to the tarmac, where the Sergeant was waiting.  
  
"Too damn slow! Give me fifty pushups! And where are the other three?!"  
  
Sephiroth said nothing, but dropped down and knocked out the pushups. Fifty was nothing compared to what Hojo had had him doing back in the Shinra building. One night he'd had him up to six hundred. As the other three boys finally reached the tarmac, they got the same treatment as he did, and they also began to do their pushups, although at a much slower pace. Finishing, Sephiroth jumped to his feet and stood at attention.  
  
"God DAMMIT cadet! Why did you do those pushups so quickly?!"  
  
Sephiroth blinked in shock.  
  
"Because.."  
  
"GET down and knock out another fifty for being so damn fast!"  
  
Sephiroth shrugged and dropped down and performed another fifty pushups. By the time he stood up, the others had finished with their pushups and the Drill Sergeant was again screaming in their faces.  
  
"You're nothing! You're worthless little maggots! You understand? You're not fit to lick my ass after I take a shit!"  
  
Sephiroth blanched. He'd never heard anything quite that abusive, even from Hojo.  
  
  
  
And so it began. The next ten weeks were a living hell for Sephiroth. It always began the same way. Get up at five o'clock, run five miles, eat a ten minute breakfast, run another five miles, calisthenics, run another five miles, sparring, weapons, lunch, and so on and so forth. It continued that way until they were finally ready for assignment. It was a day Sephiroth would never forget.  
  
  
  
Sephiroth stood proudly at the end of his squad as the ranks were being announced and assignments given. The other three had all been assigned third-class, the starting point for most of the SOLDIERs. When the drill sergeant finally stood in front of Sephiroth, his face took on a dark look.  
  
"Sephiroth. You are not being issued a rank or assignment at this point. You are to remain here at Junon Base to await further instruction. You are to report to your barracks immediately and pack your shit up. Then, you are to report to the commander's office. Do you understand?!"  
  
What the man said never actually registered with Sephiroth. Only one word kept repeating, over and over in his mind.  
  
Failure.  
  
He had failed, plain and simple. He nodded as the Drill Sergeant ended his tirade, and he immediately turned and walked slowly towards the barracks. What had gone wrong? What had he done?  
  
**************************************************************************** *************  
  
*Near the end of this chapter I got a severe case of writers block. It may be a while before the next chapter is posted, although I can never be sure. 


	9. Awakening

Leaving Sorrow Behind Chapter 9 Awakening  
  
Sorry about the review "Quota" I just felt as though people weren't interested though. I know it's been a while, but school'll do that to you.  
  
Anyhow, here's chapter 9. R &R please.  
  
Sephiroth sighed as the cool breeze blew his long bangs back and forth in front of his eyes. Nibelheim was pleasantly cool year round. The low humidity and crisp fresh mountain air was always enough to suitably lift his spirits. Today, however, it did not seem to being doing its' job very well. Day after day he replayed his conversation with the Commander over in his head.  
  
**************************************************************************** *********  
  
Sephiroth nervously stepped into the Commander's office and sat his bags down. The Commander beckoned him forward, and motioned for him to sit in the armchair in front of his desk. He remained silent for a few moments, reading over something on the screen that was built into his desk. Finally, he looked up.  
  
"You did the best of anyone we've ever had in SOLDIER. You tested at a First Class level, and you're only ten."  
  
Sephiroth blinked. If he had done so well, what was the problem? The Commander rubbed his temples.  
  
"What am I supposed to do with you?"  
  
Sephiroth's mouth almost dropped open in shock.  
  
"I don't understand, sir, what's the problem?"  
  
The Commander growled before skewering him with an icy stare.  
  
"I never dreamed you would pass the Combat Test on your first try. Most fail it. Sephiroth, you're only ten years old! Ten! I can't have ten year olds being sent into battle!"  
  
Sephiroth sank lower into the chair. He should have known it would be something like this.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
The Commander sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sending you to Nibelheim. It's a very low profile posting. You'll be given a First Class rating, but you're still going to be a squad member because of your age. You can serve their until you come of age."  
  
"Is there any other option?"  
  
"I can send you back to Shinra."  
  
Sephiroth paled. "I'll go to Nibelheim."  
  
"Very well. There's a truck waiting on the tarmac. You'll leave immediately."  
  
**************************************************************************** *********  
  
Sephiroth was brought back to reality but a particularly nasty gust of wind. He sighed. That had been six years ago. He'd been stuck here at the Mako Reactor ever since. A first class SOLDIER in the company of commoners. His comrades respected him, and most kept their distance after one of them had made the mistake of trying to get a little too friendly with him two years back and had lost everything from the waist down. Their was a hissing noise as the Mako Reactor let out a gout of steam behind him. He turned and stalked inside, immediately heading to his quarters, and brushing off the young female techs who had taken a shine to him.  
  
Flopping down on his bed, he let out a deep sigh and draped his arm across his eyes. He almost wish he was back at Shinra, where at least he would push himself to new heights daily, instead of this state of perpetual inactivity. He was just about to drift off to sleep when a harsh rap echoed throughout the room. He groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and stalked over to the door. Probably just that stupid ugly tech, throwing herself at him again. He was going to pull her guts out and-  
  
He opened the door to his commanding officer, Raddin Ferrus. He immediately snapped to attention, even as the older man gestured for him to relax. Sephiroth despised this man. He despised the thought of anyone being superior to him. Here he was, a first class, under the command of an incompetent second class geezer.  
  
"I know that for a long time you've been wanting to fight in an actual battle, and you may very well get your chance."  
  
Sephiroth's heart skipped a beat. His raging hormones had been pushing him to kill for the past year now. Most of the time he let it out on an unfortunate monster, but every now and then a tech or a member of his squad that got too close bore the brunt of his wrath.  
  
"The Wutains have landed to the north of here at Rocket Town, and they're heading this way. SOLDIER has dispatched reinforcements, but they're still two days away. We're going to have to hold them off at the pass."  
  
"How long till they get here?"  
  
Ferrus glanced at a point past the side of Sephiroth's head as he thought.  
  
"If they have siege weaponry with them, it'll probably take them about a day. If not, they'll be here with 6 hours."  
  
"6 hours?! Then we've got to get ready now!"  
  
"Yeah. I want you to take four people and scout out their position. I want you to leave in fifteen minutes. The rest of us will begin fortifying the reactor. If you're not back in two hours, we're gonna seal the door."  
  
Sephiroth blinked.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Ferrus rolled his eyes.  
  
"For such a smart person, you sure ask some dumbassed questions. Yes, I'm sure."  
  
"Alright. I'll take Ramses, Kevin, George, and Kyle."  
  
"I don't care who you take, just get going."  
  
"Yeah, I'm going."  
  
**************************************************************************** *********  
  
Five minutes later Sephiroth and his cohorts were assembled in the lounge next to whatever was behind the massive double doors in the center of the main corridor. He had just finished explaining what was about to take place, and what there assignment was.  
  
"So... we're supposed to head down the mountain, scout out their force, and be back within an hour? That's impossible." Sephiroth turned towards the speaker, an eighteen year old named Kyle.  
  
"True, it's going to be difficult, but we can make it. I'll go by myself if I have to."  
  
The next person to complain was a middle aged man named George.  
  
"I still don't get why you were put in charge!"  
  
"Because I'm just that damn good. Now shut up, and let's get going."  
  
The five of them filed out into the hallway and out onto the tarmac surrounding the Reactor.  
  
Sephiroth turned and glance over all four of the men. "Alright, Kyle, Ramses and myself will head down the western path. George, you take Kevin and go down the eastern path. We'll meet at the bottom. If you're not there I'll leave without you."  
  
George rolled his eyes and set off down the eastern path, Kevin trailing after him.  
  
"Hey !"  
  
The only response Sephiroth got was a half hearted "Fuck you" shouted over one shoulder. Sephiroth shook his head and looked at Kyle and Ramses.  
  
"Well, I guess we'd better move out ..."  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
Half an hour later, They seemed no nearer the bottom than when they began. The Reactor seemed just as close as when they had set out, and the valley below seemed no closer.  
  
As if to confirm his thoughts, Ramses sat down on the ground with a groan.  
  
"Man, this is fucking ridiculous. Don't they have binoculars or something ?"  
  
Sephiroth didn't answer, but glared intently at the gorge below. His enhanced eyes still weren't good enough to see if there were troops or artillery moving across the open field ...  
  
"We'll have to move closer. I still can't see a thing."  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
Ramses staggered to his feet, and Sephiroth set off down the path at a brisk pace, Kyle and Ramses trailing after him.  
  
Sephiroth sprinted forward, still a bit perplexed as to why he couldn't see anything in the Valley. Usually his vision was phenomenal, able to see clearly up to half a mile away if he tried. (Of course he had only just discovered this, as his confines in Midgar had been quite small) Raising a hand to his eyes, he stared more intently into the valley, while continuing forwards. He rounded a bend, and ran smack into a Wutain footsoldier. Sephiroth's eyes went wide, as did the soldier's. He began to shout a warning to his party, but Sephiroth grabbed him by the throat and slammed his head into the rock wall of the cliff and turned and ran back towards Ramses and Kevin.  
  
"Back ! Go back ! They're coming this way !"  
  
He sprinted past a shocked Kyle and Ramses and continued on, even as they turned to follow him. He heard the shouts of the soldiers below, who had undoubtedly discovered their unconscious comrade. Sephiroth rounded several more bends, and began weaving his way through a maze of rocks he didn't remember passing for some reason.  
  
(That's funny ...)  
  
He kept running, rounded one more bend and ...  
  
Came face to face with a very solid, very tall rock wall.  
  
"Dammit !"  
  
Kyle and Ramses had caught up to him now and were staring up at the wall along with him. Behind them, the shouts of the pursuing soldiers were getting louder and louder.  
  
"We're trapped ! God damnit, we're trapped !"  
  
Ramses was screaming at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Shut up! Shut up!"  
  
Sephiroth turned, "Both of you shut up !" He snarled.  
  
"Now, we've got to start climbing, right now, or we're - "  
  
A bullet whizzed by his head. He spun, and another shot came even closer. All three of them dived behind a rock face, as more bullets began to fly, and the soldiers began to close in.  
  
"What're we gonna do ?! What're we gonna do ?!"  
  
Ramses was shouting at the top of his lungs and beating on the rock wall.  
  
(Great. He's flipped out.)  
  
Sephiroth turned to Kevin.  
  
"I'm going to try to scale that wall. I need you to try to distract them while I do it."  
  
"How ?!"  
  
"I don't know ! Throw rocks, cast magic, whatever it takes! Just do it ! "  
  
Sephiroth turned and leapt as far up the wall as he could and began climbing, just as the sky lit up and the tell tale CRACK of a Bolt 2 sounded below him. He had made it about halfway up the wall.  
  
(They should be noticing me right about ... )  
  
A bullet struck the cliff next to Sephiroth's head, sending rock shards into his unprotected eyes.  
  
"Ha ! This is nothing !"  
  
He kept scaling the cliff.  
  
(Just like in the lab ... ), he thought.  
  
He was now three quarters of the way up. Looking down, he saw Kyle, fighting hand to hand with a Wutain Soldier. Ramses was dead, a bullet hole in his forehead.  
  
(Damn. What am I gonna do about him ?)  
  
Sephitorh saw no alternative than to jump down and lend aid.  
  
He fired off a quick Ice 2 into the gathered soldiers below, and let go of the rock wall, taking the twenty or so foot drop with ease. He landed and immediately unleashed another Ice 2, scattering the soldiers. Kyle turned to him, a large bloody gash in one of his cheeks.  
  
"I guess the wall is out, eh ?"  
  
Sephiroth allowed him a grim smile before he turned back to the soldiers. The Ice materia in the Mythril Bangle glowed yellow, recharging.  
  
(Damn.)  
  
The fire materia wasn't at level two yet, but it would have to do. He muttered the incantation, imagining the soldiers clustered on the other side of the rock maze, preparing to advance again. Screams and a plume of smoke told him his spell had been on target. Curses in Wutain followed.  
  
"Heh. At least we'll go down fighting, right ?"  
  
Sephiroth turned and glared at Kyle.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I don't plan on dying here."  
  
Kyle grimaced.  
  
"You know, for a sixteen year old, you sure are uptight. Can't take a joke can you ?"  
  
Sephiroth chose to ignore the comment, instead checking his armband again. Ice was recharged, as was fire. He was holding his most powerful spell, a Bolt 3 in reserve, since it was coupled with an All. He flattened himself against the rock wall and motioned for Kyle to do the same, waiting for the soldiers to round the bend.  
  
"Get ready ..."  
  
Two soldiers burst into view, guns at the ready. Kevin fired off Bolt 2, and Sephiroth chanted an Ice 2, combining with the Bolt 2, killing one soldier and paralyzing the other. Five more jumped into view, and unloaded there weapons.  
  
"Ahhh !"  
  
Kyle fell, blood pouring from his chest.  
  
"Dammit !"  
  
Sephiroth let Bolt 3 fly, killing all five of the soldiers on the spot. He didn't even wait for them to fall before he turned to Kevin.  
  
"Are you alright ?"  
  
Kyle coughed up a gout of blood.  
  
"Does it look like it ?"  
  
Sephiroth frowned. He hadn't thought to bring any Cure materia with him. This was supposed to be just a quick jaunt down the mountain. Glancing at his watch, he realized that they had been gone about an hour now. Knowing the commander, he already had the doors sealed. He probably had them sealed fifteen minutes ago. Something gleamed in the sunlight up on top of a large rock.  
  
"I don't suppose you have any Cure ?"  
  
"If I did, do you think I'd be sitting here like an -"  
  
Kyle's head exploded in a shower of blood as the Sniper's bullet pierced it. Brains, blood, and pieces of skull pattered all over Sephiroth. Screaming, he flattened himself up against the opposing wall, out of the Sniper's range. Spehiroth lost it. He sank down the rock wall, staring at what was left of Kyle. The headless corpse slumped forward, the stump of his spine sticking out of what was left of his head. Sephiroth lurched forward, about to vomit. Realizing his error, he tried to lean backwards, too late. The Sniper's bullet pierced his right shoulder from behind, tearing his arm from body. Sephiroth screamed and pitched forward, his remaining hand clutching the bloody stump. The bullet had broken through his shoulderblade, taking it out along with his arm. Cure wasn't going to fix that. Sephiroth clenched his eyes tight and gritted his teeth as hard as he could. He was pretty sure he heard a couple of them break. He must have laid there like that for five minutes before he heard the sound of laughter coming from overhead. He opened his eyes and looked up. Five Wutain soldiers were standing over him, laughing.  
  
"What is this ? The almighty Shinra send mere children to fight ?"  
  
He hadn't noticed it at first, but Sephiroth's entire vision was tinted red. He slowly climbed to his feet. Wutain's were naturally short, so, Sephiroth's already menacing height was only amplified. His body moved without him even realizing it. The soldier fell, a fist- sized hole in his chest. Two stood shocked, but the others raised there weapons. Sephiroth moved, delivering a roundhouse kick to one's head, completely tearing it from his shoulders. The other dropped his weapon, stunned. More armed soldiers burst into view, and began to fire. Bullets struck him in his chest over and over, sending him reeling to the stone floor. Thinking him dead, the Soldiers began to make an attempt to resuscitate their fallen comrades. They never noticed Sephiroth climbing to his feet, his eyes a solid green.  
  
"What the hell ?!"  
  
One of the soldiers had noticed him. The others raised their weapons and began to fire. Sephiroth felt like he was dreaming. His remaining arm came up, palm outward. Some kind of barrier he had not consciously crafted deflected the bullets, sending them ricocheting inside the cramped confines of the maze, striking the Soldiers, killing several. His hand moved, covering his eyes. Everything was turning red. The Soldiers stood, stupefied as brilliant green energy began to swirl and coalesce about him. He must have stood there for about a minute, the soldiers all watching, hypnotized as more and more of the green energy gathered. Finally, the energy exploded outward, and Sephiroth screamed at the top of his lungs as the energy created an explosion that was seen from Rocketown, over two hundred miles away.  
  
**************************************************************************** ********* 


	10. The Light

Leaving Sorrow Behind  
  
Sorry bout the long no update period, but life tends to get in the way, ya know? Anyhow, enjoy this chapter, I'll try to be more punctual, cough with my updates, but I can't make any promises. ;)  
  
*****************************************************************************************  
  
If there was any more light, he was going to die.  
  
It was everywhere, around him, in him, a blinding green light, burning like the sun.  
  
It shimmered, dimming and strengthening in luminescence every few minutes, it almost became bearable when it waned.  
  
Sephiroth didn't know how long he'd been this way, how long the light had assailed his unblinking eyes. Was he unwilling or unable to blink? He didn't know. The searing pain was everything to him right now.  
  
Gradually, he became aware of voices talking softly. At first, he thought it was some kind of odd breeze, but they gradually grew louder, coming from everywhere at once. There was no substance to what they were saying, their whisperings sheer madness. Sephiroth was enraged at the audacity. He wanted to scream out at those who were causing him to suffer, but he didn't know how to, didn't know if he even had a mouth to scream with any longer.  
  
"Arrogance ..."  
  
The word came unbidden into his mind. What was arrogant? Who was arrogant?  
  
The light began to dim. Sephiroth had no idea how long it took for the light to recede entirely into nothingness, but the moment it did, he passed out into the comforting blackness.  
  
*****************************************************************************************  
  
Hojo was reading over another hardcopy of SOLDIER candidates that were to receive the controversial new Mako Treatments in his office. Since he had presented his results with Sephiroth to President Shinra, the leader of the corporation had become obsessed with creating an army who's skill with sword and magic was unmatched.   
  
It had been over two week since Wutai had attacked without warning. Shinra troops across the entire western continent were routed, losses in excess of 75% were not uncommon, while the enemy's army remained entirely intact. The ineptitude of the SOLDIERs and standard troopers had become painfully evident. Now it was Hojo's job to create what years of training could not.  
  
He would do it, or it appeared Shinra Incorporated was doomed.  
  
Naturally, he had held out for a lot more money, and superior research facilities. President Shinra had fired him after his 'failure' with Number One, but when the war began and Shinra finally read Hojo's hardcopy, he was immediately offered head of Science Division, as Professor Gast had absconded the post to screw the Cetra Woman. She was unimportant, however. He was the head of the Science Division now, and he would have his son back at any cost. No one held much confidence in the army, and he was sure he would have no problem removing a parentless third class SOLDIER to test the new injections on.   
  
Hojo couldn't believe his luck when he received word that Sephiroth had been almost fatally injured when the Wutains apparently launched some form of suicide attack on the Nibel Reactor, killing themselves and the entire Shinra detachment, save one, as well. The official report was that some kind of bomb had been used, but Hojo knew better. Having received critical damage to his body, Sephiroth had undoubtedly uncovered a portion of the power that had been bred into him. Hojo had Sephiroth rerouted from a field hospital to the Shinra Building's science wing for 'Intensive Care and Observation."  
  
That had been one week ago, and Sephiroth was due to arrive at any moment.  
  
Hojo was almost giddy with excitement, frequently bursting into high pitched laughing fits and wringing his hands in anticipation as he reviewed the data before him. At last, he would have his magnum opus back, the work he had spent the past seventeen years of his life on.   
  
At long last, the intercom at his desk buzzed on.  
  
"Professor Hojo, the specimen you requested has arrived."  
  
Hojo lept out of his chair immediately, threw open the door to his office and ran as fast as his scrawny frame would carry him down the hallway to the helipad.  
  
The helicopter's rotors were still slowly spinning even as four men shrouded in white wheeled a gurney towards the doors, which slid silently open at their approach.   
  
Hojo waited eagerly inside until the doors had slid shut behind the decidedly odd procession and shoved two of the MedTechs away from the gurney to eagerly look at Sephiroth.  
  
Hojo was shocked by what he saw, and at first, was not even sure that the boy lying before him was truly Sephiroth.   
  
Sephiroth's left arm had been blown raggedly off at the shoulder, a bandage soaked in blood covering the grievous wound. His face was a festering mass of pustules and blisters, his right eye clouded with infection. As Hojo's gaze traveled down Sephiroth's mangled body, he realized that the blanket over what he had presumed was the lower half of Sephiroth's body was covering nothing more than machinery, which was undoubtedly sustaining the boy's life. Sephiroth's legs and lower torso were completely gone.  
  
Hojo brooded over his fallen creation for a few minutes before quietly ordering the MedTechs to take Sephiroth to "Room 75"  
  
Hojo turned and walked slowly down the hallway to his office. This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.  
  
*****************************************************************************************  
  
The green light was gone, replaced by the darkness of the tomb.  
  
Was he still alive? Was he still thinking? Or, was this the final destination of all mankind, darkness, nothing left beyond death but an eternity of nothing.  
  
Again, time flowed in loops, or so he presumed.  
  
He had no idea how long he had been in this nothingness. For all he knew, only a second had passed, or, a thousand years. He had had a lot of time to ponder over his situation. Over the very nature of creation and reality.   
  
Sephiroth didn't understand entirely yet, but he was drawing closer with each passing moment. He was still in the world, he knew that much, not because there was any logic to his reasoning, but because the desire burned within him for it to be true. He wasn't ready to die, and so he refused to let go. His body had been damaged, but he would survive to avenge himself, to destroy those who had the audacity to harm him.   
  
He was the only one that mattered, the others were nothing but figments of his imagination, and as such they could be manipulated into doing whatever he damn well willed them to.  
  
Sephiroth knew logic defied him, but he knew that he was beyond it, that logic held no place in this world, his world. He had crossed the line from human to ...  
  
To what he didn't know, but he knew he had gone beyond, into something far greater, into a power that was limitless. Unfortunately, the realization of this power apparently meant damnation in darkness. Apparently even God himself stood against him, but it didn't matter. If he didn't see, hear, or believe that God existed, then he didn't, the same way if he believed he was flying, he was. Closer, he was drawing closer with every past second. It was there, shining, in the back of his mind, he knew all he had to do was reach out and touch it, and it would all fall into place.  
  
All he had to do was believe.  
  
The light was blinding.  
  
*****************************************************************************************  
  
Hojo had hardly slept in the week that had passed since Sephiroth's return to the Shinra Building. Almost immediately, he had begun working on a device that would be capable of restoring Sephiroth's body to its original state. It wasn't a difficult concept. Every cell in Sephiroth's body contained a blue print of his body, instructions for building and rebuilding his body. All Hojo had to do was stimulate the cells, cause them to begin reading that blueprint and following its intstruction as if Sephiroth was again in his mother's womb.  
  
The thought brought a mental image of Lucrecia's blood streaked midriff and her cries of suffering as she labored with Sephiroth unbidden to his mind. He chuckled at the thought. Human birth was a disgusting process. Hojo's skin would often crawl at the thought of being born, of the disgusting passage out of another human, like some sort of parasite.   
  
"Not the time!"  
  
The sound of his own voice shook Hojo out of his reverie, and brought his focus back to the task at hand.  
  
The reactor had been relatively easy to construct, but the nutrient bath that was required for the regeneration of Sephiroth's limbs was proving somewhat more difficult to concoct. The solution had kept Sephiroth's body infection free and was also keeping him alive, but for some reason his cells had not begun mitosis. Hojo erased another section of the chemical formula and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He had installed the Cellular Reactor in the corner of his office, as the device was not all that large. Hojo stood and walked over to his creation and peered at the boy encased within. The scars over Sephiroth's torso had healed well, but the nutrient bath wasn't responsible for that, Sephiroth's own incredible metabolism was doing that part. Leaning forward, Hojo rested his forehead against the cool glass. It didn't make sense.   
  
Long lines of numbers and elements began working their way through Hojo's brain, as he attempted to mentally work out the formula that had been plaguing him.  
  
The immense flash of light, brighter than Hojo had anything ever seen ... no, felt, came suddenly.  
  
He shrieked a stumbled backwards holding his head in his hands. His nails, unkempt, dug into his scalp, drawing blood. The light was everywhere, and through it all, Hojo knew what was happening. "Fuck! It isn't right!"  
  
The light cleared as suddenly as it had enveloped him, and even before looking up at the reactor, Hojo knew what he was going to see.   
  
Hojo slowly traveled up Sephiroth's mangled body until they locked with the boy's shining green eyes.  
  
Without knowing why, Hojo rose to his feet and began to slowly move across the floor, back to the reactor. His mind was blank, the light was everything.  
  
Sephiroth's eyes burned into his brain. They were the light. Human? He had been foolish to save him.   
  
"Should have killed you!" Hojo groaned even as he continued to move towards the reactor. The light ... no, Sephiroth, burned into him. He could feel his mind being completely dominated. Hojo collapsed against the side of the reactor. He broke eye contact with Sephiroth as he fell, and the light receded. Quite suddenly his mind was again his own. Hojo stood, but was careful not to look into Sephiroth's eyes. He could still feel him on the fringe of his mind. He was there, he knew all and felt all. Involuntarily, Hojo raised his head again and locked eyes with Sephiroth.  
  
"Whhhhhyyyyyyyyyy ?!"  
  
Hojo screamed in agony as the light pierced him once more, and his body climbed to its feet and stumbled to the controls.  
  
"That's it, you little fool. Open the tank and kill yourself."  
  
Hojo's fingers flew over the keyboard. A hissing sound filled the room, and the light receded.  
  
As Hojo regained his senses, he immediately became aware of the fact that he was soaked in the viscous green nutrient bath. He started to climb to his feet, but slipped and fell to the floor again. Hojo regained his breath and stumbled to his feet. He intentionally kept his eyes trained on the floor however. He had no idea exactly what was happening here, but he knew he couldn't look at Sephiroth.  
  
His head began to move again.  
  
"Nooooo ...." Hojo whimpered.  
  
Standing before him was Sephiroth, or rather what was left of him. His body was completely repaired, save for his left arm, which had no skin covering the coiled muscle. Sephiroth raised the appendage and glanced impassionately at it, before returning it to his side. Hojo felt the eyes burning into him again, but this time he was not attempting to take control of his mind.  
  
Sephiroth chuckled as Hojo collapsed to the floor in terror.  
  
***************************************************************************************** 


End file.
